Kyrie Irving shocked the NBA world last week when he announced he would like to be traded away from the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason.

It was a surprising decision to many because many thought the point guard was happy playing alongside arguably the best player in the league today in LeBron James, as well as going to the Finals in each of the past three seasons, winning the Championship once in that period.

Yet, it looks as though Irving's time in Cleveland is now over, and upon announcing his request to be traded, he suggested he should be traded to either the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Miami Heat or Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Knicks are considered to be one of the favorites to sign the 25-year-old because, although he was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, he grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, so going to the Knicks would be like going back home for him.

However, according to reports, Irving will not be able to go to New York because of one thing or, shall we say, one person - Carmelo Anthony.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN, Irving-to-New York is "unlikely" to happen because Carmelo Anthony remains intent on being traded to the Houston Rockets, and not the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He stated in his report: "Carmelo Anthony's top destination in any trade, per league sources, is the Houston Rockets. Nothing really has changed since ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported more than a week ago that Anthony still expected the Knicks to carry out their previous plan to trade him to Houston."

It's crazy how much one trade can have a knock-on effect on another trade happening, but it's the truth. Why is this the case though? Anthony would most likely be the only viable player on the Knicks roster that the Cavaliers would be able to receive in a trade in return for Irving. Sure, Kristaps Porzingis is an attractive player, but New York isn't going to give him up.

The team doesn't have to trade the point guard since he has two years left on his current deal, but reports have speculated that they will eventually do it. His replacement may have already been found as well in the form of Derrick Rose, as he signed a one-year, $2.1 million deal earlier this week with the team.