As New York Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry pursue a meeting with Carmelo Anthony in the coming days, league sources tell ESPN that team officials will find a 10-time All-Star player counting on the franchise to carry out its previously agreed upon mandate to trade Anthony to the Houston Rockets.
Whatever stance a post-Phil Jackson front office is taking now, Anthony, 33, has continued with an expectation that the Knicks will soon resume talks to honor the franchise's longstanding goal to rebuild without Anthony, league sources said.
Anthony has been willing to waive his no-trade clause for Houston and Cleveland, but in recent weeks he has begun to prioritize a trade to the Rockets to join Chris Paul and James Harden over the Cavaliers and LeBron James, league sources said.