The NBA Trade Rumors are rolling. Some frustrated teams are already cooking up some deals. Foremost on that list are aspiring Eastern powers- New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls obviously want Carmelo Anthony. For some observers, he is actually the missing piece to the Bulls' championship puzzle. However, the price tag for Melo won't come cheap and the Bulls will not have the cap space to sign him outright.

They have to be spend and be very creative at the same time. The obvious key to acquiring Melo is to amnesty Carlos Boozer, but that is a very expensive move.

And it's still not a guarantee that they would get the Knicks' top scorer.

ESPN had floated a rumor that the Bulls actually want to trade Boozer before they try to amnesty him (typical frugal ownership behavior).  How about trading directly to the Knicks for Melo?

ESPN's Marc Stein elaborates: "Sources briefed on Chicago's thinking say the Bulls are going to do everything they can to try to find a trading partner for Boozer before seriously considering the amnesty option. 

Bear in mind that Chicago essentially has until July 15 to craft a deal that finds a new home for Boozer after a season in which he lost much of his fourth-quarter run to Taj Gibson. The NBA's amnesty window this summer runs through July 10-16."

Now the more intriguing question if they consider a Melo for Boozer trade: "Would the Bulls ever, ever, ever consider taking on J.R. Smith in a sign-and-trade deal for Melo if the Knicks agreed to take back Boozer?"

JR Smith is the embodiment of everything the Bulls abhor in a player: a poor team player who takes bad shots and is lazy at defense. But the Knicks will obviously be at a disadvantage when they trade Carmelo, so they would have a right to dump all of their bad contracts.

The actual combination for such a trade would be mind-boggling. Still, stranger things have happened in the NBA.