Report: Celtics Coaches ‘In Favor’ of Carmelo Anthony Trade

Based on the way Phil Jackson talked about Carmelo Anthony at his recent press conference, it’s a safe bet that Melo’s time in New York is up. Where he will end up is naturally the next question.

According to a report from the New York Post, the Boston Celtics coaching staff is willing to welcome Melo with open arms, and were in favor of doing so at the trade deadline.

More from the Post:

According to an NBA source, the Celtics coaching staff was in favor of trading for Anthony at the trade deadline, but general manager Danny Ainge had too many reservations. One of Ainge’s concerns, according to a source, was an Anthony trade would have given Boston no real cap space to work with for the 2017 free-agent class.

Jackson and the rest of New York’s front office is reportedly interested in Jae Crowder, who they likely could have had in 2014 when they traded Tyson Chandler to the Mavericks, the team who Crowder was playing for at the time:

The Post has learned that in talks with the Celtics, their defensive small forward Jae Crowder would be a major player of interest for Knicks president Phil Jackson. In fact, Jackson lamented not trading for Crowder when he was on the table in the 2014 trade talks with the Mavericks for Tyson Chandler. Crowder is an active, gritty defender who can shoot from 3-point range.

Melo owns a no-trade clause in his contract and would have to waive it for any deal to go through.

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