If you are suffering from that post-Super Bowl football withdrawal, don’t worry. Basketball is here to carry us into the summer. College basketball enters the final stretch of the regular season in a mad rush to March. I’ll dive into a contenders/pretenders article tomorrow, but for today’s “Heat Check” I’m going to be focusing on the NBA. Specifically, the non-stop rumor mill as we head towards the All-Star break and the February 23^rd trade deadline.

As always, at this time of the year, there are quite a few names on the proverbial trade block. Everyday brings another story of trade talks between two teams. It remains to be seen whether or not we will see the infamous three-team blockbuster deal that sends a star to a contender and a ton of compensation to the other two teams involved. Regardless, there are still some intriguing trade rumors going around the league. These aren’t necessarily rankings of the top rumors or players, but more just some of the more interesting situations to watch over the next two weeks.

Carmelo Anthony and His No-Trade Clause

Despite what I might think about Phil Jackson’s questionable management style, the Knicks are in a spot where they need to find a way to trade Carmelo Anthony. The relationship between Anthony and Jackson has reached toxic levels and New York is going in the wrong direction after attempting to patch together a super-team in the offseason. The time is now to hit the reset button on the franchise. Building towards the future around Kristaps Porzingis should be priority number one.

However, this isn’t as simple as trade Anthony to the highest bidder. Anthony is the only active player in the NBA with a “no-trade clause” in his contract. This isn’t like in baseball where a player has a list of teams he won’t go to play. New York gave Anthony the power to reject any potential trade. So obviously that will loom over any trade negotiation that will take place over the next 15 days.

There is no shortage of rumors surrounding the Knicks star. The biggest rumor so far is that Cleveland is looking to add the nine-time All-Star in a deal that would send Kevin Love to New York. Pretty much anyone from the Cavaliers have vehemently denied these stories, especially after New York Daily News reporter Frank Isola wrote that LeBron James is pushing for the deal to happen.

In all honesty, this deal makes absolutely no sense for the Cavaliers, so it makes sense for the consistent denial of any of these rumors. Yes, the defending champs probably could make another move to add some depth to the roster, but trading Love for Anthony does not accomplish that.

A more realistic rumor is the potential Melo-to-Clippers deal. There hasn’t been any legitimate movement on this front since January 26^th when USA TODAY NBA writer Sam Amick reported the Clippers had “strong interest” in adding Anthony. The interesting part about this rumor is that New York reportedly wouldn’t require Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, or DeAndre Jordan in a trade for Carmelo. That would lead me to believe that a third team would be needed to get this deal done.

All-in-all there is quite a lot that will happen before the trade deadline and this will be the top situation to watch going forward. If I had to guess, the Clippers are the most likely team to have Anthony on its roster come February 24^th.

New Orleans’ Quest to Make a Deal for a Center

Pelicans general manager Dell Demps already has a superstar to build around in Anthony Davis, but reportedly has New Orleans in the market to add another center to the mix. The Pelicans are looking to trade its 2018 first-round pick and get rid of center Omer Asik, who is set to make $10+ million over the next three seasons.

On Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported on Monday that New Orleans and Philadelphia were in negotiations for a deal that would send center Jahlil Okafor to the Pelicans. There are a few sticking points that are holding up this potential deal. Philadelphia needs to break up its three-man rotation at center, but it would have to be for the right price.

The Sixers have no interest in taking on Asik’s salary, and would instead be receiving center Alexis Ajinca and the 2018 first-rounder according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Both teams are also at odds over the exact terms of that first-round pick according to Kevin Smith of RealGM. New Orleans wants the pick to be lottery protected in 2018 while Philadelphia wants it to either be top-5 or top-10 protected.

So at the moment things are at a standstill between the two teams. Chicago could force New Orleans to make the deal given the Bulls interest in acquiring Okafor, but there is still time for a deal to get done. Okafor would be worth compromising to pair with a budding superstar in Davis forming a formidable frontcourt duo.

However, a new rumor surfaced yesterday from Wojnarowski that the Pelcans are interested in Brooklyn center Brook Lopez. Considering that the Nets are in desperate need of first-round picks after getting bamboozled by Boston in recent years and is on the precipice of a total rebuild, they could be a better suitor for New Orleans.

The Curious Case of DeMarcus Cousins

While conventional wisdom would lead one to believe that Sacramento should be looking to recoup maximum value for its All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins. Well that can potentially be put on hold for now as Kings general manager Vlade Divac dismissed any rumors that Cousins would be traded and that he hopes “he will be here for a long time.”

Now that is a novel thought since you don’t get a talent like Cousins everyday, but the issues with him aren’t going away any time soon. Sacramento is already on its sixth coach since drafting the two-time All-Star in 2010. There is also a growing sentiment in the media that Cousins is basically uncoachable. Add to the equation that for the fourth time in five seasons “Boogie” has been suspended due to accumulating 16+ technical fouls.

From all accounts, this relationship looks doomed unless the Kings can find a way to become a contender quickly. There are still plenty of teams that would sell the farm to get a player of Cousins’ caliber. Despite Divac’s comments yesterday, don’t rule out the possibility of a team giving up a king’s ransom to acquire this potential superstar.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with a college centric “Heat Check” looking at the contenders and pretenders as we near March Madness. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.