At the tail end of an offseason that saw Chris Paul land with the Rockets, Kyrie Irving seemingly out of nowhere get shipped off to the Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas and Jimmy Butler leave the Bulls for the Timberwolves, there's still one NBA trade that has not occurred.

Carmelo Anthony has not been moved from the Knicks despite the relationship with his employer being all but ruined after former team president Phil Jackson said he would "be better off somewhere else" along with months of rumors and speculation. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported Wednesday the 10-time All-Star's camp is "cautiously optimistic" a deal with the Rockets, Anthony's team of choice, will be reached by Monday when the Knicks host their annual media day.

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It'd be hard to imagine Anthony ever taking the floor at Madison Square Garden again, but the prospect of him donning Knickerbocker blue and orange, if only for a preseason photo shoot and media session, only adds to the soap opera the storied franchise has become. The Rockets, who currently have the league's eighth-most expensive payroll at $119 million, would likely have to find a third team to take on the remaining three years and $60 million left on power forward Ryan Anderson's contract in order to make a trade for Anthony work.

Isola also noted Anthony has "mentally moved on" from the Knicks, though the team has not yet moved on from him largely because of the no-trade clause in his contract. Anthony only wants to play for the Rockets, but New York's front office isn't willing to simply hand him over.

Anthony, who averaged 22.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his 14th season as a pro in 2016-17, hasn't appeared at the Knicks' facilities all offseason, choosing instead to hold his own private workouts. Adding him to a Houston roster that also includes MVP runner-up James Harden and Paul would give the Rockets a perimeter triumvirate that could compete, if not contend, with the Warriors in the Western Conference. But because the Knicks, the darlings of NBA dysfunction, are involved, there's so much drama that must die down before both sides can get to the business of simply preparing to play basketball.

Oh yeah, Knicks team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry face New York media Friday.

Grab your popcorn.