Report: Cavaliers leading contender for Carmelo should Knicks buy him out

It's looking more and more likely that Carmelo Anthony's time with the New York Knicks will be coming to an end sooner rather than later. Should that come to fruition, joining his banana boat buddy LeBron James on the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference could be in his future.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be a leading contender to sign Anthony should the Knicks buy out the remainder of his contract this offseason, league sources told ESPN's Chris Haynes and Marc Stein.

During an appearance on NBA on ESPN Radio on Thursday, ESPN's Brian Windhorst brought up that Anthony, along with Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade, could potentially join the Cavaliers if they receive buyouts from their respective teams.

Anthony is set to make $26.2 million in 2017-18, with an early termination clause in his contract the following year. Wade, on the other hand, just exercised his player option of $23.8 million with Chicago.

The Knicks reportedly shopped Anthony to Cleveland back in January in a player-for-player swap that would have brought them Kevin Love, but the Cavaliers quickly shut those talks down.

Phil Jackson has already expressed his desire for Anthony to find success elsewhere, as it's become abundantly clear that won't be the case in The Big Apple. The 33-year-old still has a no-trade clause that would need to be waived in order for a deal to be struck, making a buyout the more plausible scenario at this point.