The New York Knicks have been attempting to trade Carmelo Anthony for months, but somehow he still remains part of the franchise.

Due to the star's no-trade clause, they have found it difficult to offload him throughout the summer.

Melo has informed the franchise that he's only willing to waive it to join the Houston Rockets to team up with longtime friend Chris Paul and James Harden to compete for a championship.

The Knicks and Rockets have been in trade discussions throughout the summer but have been unable to reach an agreement.

The major stumbling block appears to be the contract of power forward Ryan Anderson who Houston is keen to include as part of the deal, but New York is unwilling to take on the remainder of his three-year, $60 million deal.

However, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Carmelo's camp is "cautiously optimistic" that a deal will be struck between the two parties by Monday.

But with a trade to Texas still looking uncertain, one team that continues to hold a strong interest in Anthony and is patiently waiting in the wings are the Portland Trail Blazers.

Their star duo Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have been recruiting Melo throughout the offseason in an attempt to convince him to waive his no-trade clause and consider a move to Rip City.

According to Fox Sports' Jason McIntyre, their efforts could potentially bear fruit as the small forward may be open to the idea of joining Portland if his desired move to the Rockets fails to materialise.

Per McIntyre: "Carmelo Anthony's people are trying a Hail Mary attempt to get him to Houston (Knicks won't do it) ... before he accepts a deal to Portland."

Reports of the Blazers' interest in the 10-time All-Star first surfaced in July and was reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

At the time, Woj said: "Portland believes the addition of a player such as Anthony would furnish it with talent and depth comparable to those of the top Western Conference contenders, except for the Golden State Warriors."

Lillard has also gone on record to say, "I'm not giving up on anything," in regards to potentially teaming up with the 32-year-old.

As he's still a Knicks player, Anthony is expected to start training camp with the team on Monday and that'll mean facing the press on media day.

His future will be the biggest talking point and it'll be interesting to see if he sheds any light on his future in the Big Apple and his plans for the new season.