NBA Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Now Headed To The Clippers?

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The Los Angeles Clippers’ season has come to an end with another early playoff exit once again. Doc Rivers’ squad couldn’t overcome an up-and-coming Utah Jazz squad led by a budding star, Gordon Hayward, as they fell in convincing fashion in Game 7 on their home floor of the Staples Center.

With the Clippers 2016-17 campaign now over, a lot of questions surround the franchise and the pending free agency of J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul. The consensus seems to be that the majority of these players will be back in Los Angeles, but it seems clear another star is needed and that could be Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post:

An inevitable shake-up is coming with the Clippers’ array of free agents. The team may not be dismantled after the first-round flameout, but it will be reconfigured. Anthony, if he so wishes, could be at the heart of their makeover.

At this point, the writing seems to be on the wall in Los Angeles. The Clippers can’t contend with the Golden State Warriors and have fallen behind both the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. Even the Jazz now seem to have built their team up enough to be a serious threat as well making the future bleak, to say the least for Steve Ballmer’s franchise.

Fortunately for the Clippers, the team can try to acquire Anthony in a trade. Anthony will have to waive his no-trade clause to make it happen, but it is conceivable that a deal is made before the start of next season.

The combination of Paul, Anthony, Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan might be enough to at least get the Clippers back in the contender conversation in the Western Conference. It still might not be enough to compete with the cream of the crop in the playoffs, but it would likely be a vast improvement from the mediocre squad they’ve become.