The Carmelo Anthony-Kevin Love trade saga has continued as rumors emerge that LeBron James is "pushing" the Cleveland Cavaliers to complete a deal with the New York Knicks even at the expense of their starting power forward.

Anthony, 32, has been the subject of trade rumors since last month after reports went out that Knicks president Phil Jackson is looking to trade him before the Feb. 23 deadline. The nine-time All-Star then said that he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause if the club believes that he is no longer need in New York, which sparked even more speculations.

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The Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics have come out as potential destinations for Anthony, but the most probable team to try to acquire him are the defending champions Cavaliers with James being his close friend.

According to the New York Daily News' Frank Isola, James is "pushing" the Cavs' management to trade for Carmelo "even if it potentially means having to include Kevin Love" in the deal.

However, giving up Love is something that Cleveland is reportedly not considering at the moment, especially after the 39-point, 16-rebound performance he displayed during the team's overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night.

LeBron and Cavs coach Tyronn Lue have denied this rumor, however, with the King calling these Anthony-to-Cleveland trade speculations "thrash" while Lue saying that "Kevin should be happy that teams want him, but he's not going anywhere".

CBS Sports noted that the Cavaliers are highly unlikely to trade Love anytime soon as he has the "highest differential in net points per possession between on court and off court of any player" on the team's roster right now.

It does not mean that he is the team's most valuable player, but the Cavaliers are at their finest when Love is on the floor.

Bringing such a huge piece like Anthony, who is known as an iso-heavy scorer and mediocre defender, would completely ruin Cleveland's chemistry as the defending champs prepare themselves for a title defense in the postseason.

TagsNBA Trade Rumors, NBA Trade Rumors 2017, carmelo anthony, Kevin Love, Lebron James, cleveland cavaliers, new york knicks