Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis Doesn’t Want To See Carmelo Anthony Get Traded

The biggest name in the NBA that could be headed elsewhere before the NBA trade deadline is Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. The team seems determined to move the superstar in an effort to build around Kristaps Porzingis, but the second-year forward hopes it doesn’t happen.

Porzingis appears to have nothing but respect for Anthony and how easy the veteran makes the 21-year-old’s job in New York, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News:

“I think it would make life harder for me on the court (if Anthony was traded),” Porzingis told the Daily News. “He makes stuff easier for me.”

Although it seems like a foregone conclusion that Anthony will be traded on or before Feb. 23, Porzingis hopes to continue playing alongside Anthony. The European import believes there’s so much more to be learned from his superstar counterpart, via Bondy:

“There’s still a lot more things I want to learn from Melo,” Porzingis told The News. “So I would love to have him around for a long time. I always love playing with Melo.”

The real question from until the NBA trade deadline is whether the Knicks can actually get a deal done to send Anthony elsewhere. First of all, the team has to send him somewhere that he wants to go for the veteran forward to waive his no-trade clause. That is proving to be no easy task for Phil Jackson and company.

At this point, the most likely destination appears to be the Los Angeles Clippers. The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are also potential landing spots for Anthony, but the Clippers could be the most realistic.