Celtics Attempted To Acquire Carmelo Anthony From Knicks At Trade Deadline

The New York Knicks were shopping forward Carmelo Anthony at the trade deadline, and even though Anthony said he wasn't likely to waive his no-trade clause, the Boston Celtics still tried to work something out for the superstar before talks shut down. Via ESPN's Ian Begley:

Prior to the trade deadline, the Boston Celtics expressed interest in obtaining Anthony via a trade with the Knicks, according to league sources with knowledge of the situation.

It is unclear if there were any formal discussions between New York and Boston and if those discussions ever reached an advanced stage. But Boston was informed that Anthony had no desire to leave the Knicks via trade to play for the Celtics, sources say.

Anthony had made public statements about his desire to stay in New York with trade rumors swirling around him leading up to the deadline, expressing that he wouldn't waive his no-trade clause no matter what.

"Doing it in New York is better than doing it any place in the world," he said. “One in New York is better than multiple somewhere else. That was the reason I wanted to come to New York. That’s the reason I’m in New York. ... I don’t want to run. I could have run somewhere when I was a free agent. I came back for a reason. I don’t feel like I got to keep expressing that part of why I came back to New York."

The Celtics haven't been shy about their desire to add a star player, thinking that's the only thing that stands in the way of them being a true title contender. They were linked to Kings center DeMarcus Cousins earlier in the season, as well as Rockets center Dwight Howard and Hawks forward Al Horford.

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