The New York Knicks do not intend on helping any team try and acquire Carmelo Anthony in free agency. If someone else wants him, they will have to sign outright. A few franchises have approached the Knicks about the potential of orchestrating a sign-and-trade with the guard, but New York is denying all offers as they too want to sign Anthony to a contract.
The Chicago Bulls are feeling confident about their chances of signing Anthony. The guard met with team officials, head coach Tom Thibodeau and stars Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah during his free agency tour and everyone reportedly left feeling confident they have a chance of getting Anthony to a contract. However, the Bulls need some help in the money department if they want to sign Anthony and retain most of their current roster.
According the ESPN's Chris Broussard, the Knicks have rejected a sign-and-trade deal that includes bringing back Carlos Boozer in exchange for Anthony. The Bulls have been trying to get rid of Boozer and his inflated contract since the mid-season trading period, but have failed to strike a deal. The team was hoping the Knicks would be interested after they traded away Tyson Chandler, but so far New York is denying the deal.
Acquiring Boozer would not necessarily hurt the Knicks. He comes off the books in 2015 along with Amar'e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani so he would not factor into Phil Jackson's long-term plan that focuses around next year's free agency class. However, Boozer is not the player he once was when he originally signed with the Bulls. He is an efficient scorer, but struggles on defense where the Knicks would need him most.
If the Bulls are going to pull off a sign-and-trade for Anthony, they will have to work in another player with better value. They could give up Taj Gibson or Jimmy Butler. Nikola Mirotic is also a solid option. However, Anthony wants those players on the roster if he is going to sign with Chicago, complicating the deal even more. Chicago might be better off just using their amnesty clause on Boozer because a sign-and-trade with him and Anthony is simply highway robbery with the Knicks getting the bad end of the deal.