Report: Knicks have no interest in buying out Carmelo

Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks would both welcome a split, but it's just not that simple.

Anthony is very particular about where he wants to go, and wields a no-trade clause to block any move not to his liking, but the Knicks have been unable to find a palatable trade package from Anthony's preferred destinations.

That leaves the two sides stuck in the same stalemate that dragged on for most of last season, even after Phil Jackson was mercifully dumped this summer.

Reaching a buyout would circumvent the need for a trade, but the Knicks have no interest in buying Anthony out of the last two seasons of his contract, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. That echoes what Knicks president Steve Mills said in July, when he responded to buyout rumors by flatly saying, "no."

Begley adds there has been "little contact" between Anthony and the Knicks of late with training camp just around the corner.

Anthony is owed $54 million over the next two seasons, so reaching a buyout would be an extremely expensive proposition. He also remains the Knicks' biggest star, and while the organization would like to move forward with a rebuild, a player of Anthony's caliber should still command a worthwhile return. Buying him out would be squandering an opportunity.

However, a buyout would finally allow New York to move on with its rebuild in earnest. Unless the Knicks change their mind on swallowing the unpleasant contract of Ryan Anderson in a trade with the Houston Rockets, the tired saga will be extended for one more season.

Anthony first approached New York about a buyout in June, around the time of the draft, but the Knicks resisted then, just as they are now.