The Houston Rockets are in danger of losing Carmelo Anthony

Houston has long been Carmelo Anthony‘s target destination, but a stalemate between the Rockets and Knicks has caused him to expand his list.

Carmelo Anthony still wants to play for the Houston Rockets, but now he’s willing to play for a few other teams too.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks asked Melo to expand his list of trade destinations to two additional teams. Anthony granted their request, and has agreed to expand his list. The Cleveland Cavaliers the Oklahoma City Thunder are Carmelo’s additional desirable destinations.

Cleveland was on Anthony’s original list of teams, before the Cavaliers’ general manager David Griffin parted ways with the team and Kyrie Irving‘s trade request sent the NBA world into a frenzy. To avoid joining the only organization that was in more chaos than the Knicks, Carmelo knocked the Cavs off of his list.

It makes sense that Cleveland is again in good favor with Anthony. They’ve replace Irving with Isaiah Thomas and swapped Griffin with Koby Altman, who appears to be a very competent manager. Also, Carmelo’s longtime friend LeBron James hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down any time soon.

The particular danger with Cleveland, is that they have a few tradable assets. The Knicks could be interested in Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic or Cedi Osman. And every team in the league would like to have Brooklyn’s first-round pick that Cleveland acquired in the Kyrie trade.

The Oklahoma City Thunder

The second team on Carmelo’s wishlist is the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. The Thunder could offer young assets such as Enes Kanter, Steven Adams, Andre Roberson and Doug McDermott to the Knicks. A core of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony would form a legitimate big three, no matter who surrounds them.

A Thunder team with Carmelo would form a large threat to every team chasing the Warriors, including the Houston Rockets. OKC was very competitive in their last playoff series against Houston, and they’d be downright scary with George and Anthony.

The Rockets and Knicks have been in trade talks involving Anthony for months to no avail. The Chris Paul deal took away most of Houston’s best assets, and the Knicks simply aren’t buying what the Rockets’ front office is trying to sell.

Next: Houston Rockets: 3 biggest strengths for next season

Carmelo Anthony still wants to play in Houston, but a three-team trade may be the only way to get a deal done. The Rockets are less likely to land Melo than they have been since the start of the offseason. But Rockets Nation should remain optimistic through the turmoil.