Knicks Finally Get Their Man: Carmelo Anthony Traded to New York
According to just about every news outlet available, the Denver Nuggets have finally granted the request of superstar Carmelo Anthony to be traded to the New York Knicks.
Anthony is finally a Knick.
The deal will be officially commenced once Anthony signs a three-year, $65 million contract extension.
Along with Anthony, the Knicks will acquire Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Corey Brewer, Shelden Williams and Anthony Carter.
In exchange, the Nuggets will receive Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton and Timofey Mozgov. They’ll also receive a 2014 first-round pick from New York, as well as second-round picks in 2012 and 2013 along with $3 million.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are also involved in the deal, and received Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry from New York while shipping out Brewer.
The price was steep for the Knicks, but they finally got their man.
News broke last summer about Anthony’s desire to play in his hometown, and Denver has been actively seeking a trade for months.
New York and the New Jersey Nets have been the primary suitors for Anthony’s services all along, but it was commonly believed that his heart was set on playing for the Knicks and only the Knicks.
With the arrival of Anthony, the Knicks now have the makings of a “super team” that may be able to rival the likes of the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers sometime down the line.
While they’d surely like to add another star to the mix eventually, the offensive combination of Anthony and Amare Stoudemire playing in Mike D’Antoni’s system is sure to bring fireworks to the Big Apple in the meantime.
Billups, a Colorado native, has made it clear in the past that he’d prefer to remain with the Nuggets. There were initial thoughts that the Knicks could buy-out his contract in order to let him return to Denver, but it seems as though New York will keep him instead. His contract is set to expire following the 2011-12 season.
The move also thinned out the Knicks’ frontline. Reserve forward Ronny Turiaf will now likely start at center, with Shelden Williams backing him up off-the-bench.
Until they’re able to add some more size, this will limit New York’s effectiveness against some of the other top-tier teams in the Eastern Conference, such as Orlando, Chicago and Boston. Miami lacks much frontline depth, as well, but their “big three” is better than the Knicks’ at the moment.
Another issue for New York will be their team defense.
Neither Anthony nor Stoudemire is known much for their defensive abilities, so, while they may be able to score 115 points per game themselves, they may well be giving up 115 per.
Still, though, the acquisition of Anthony is a major boost for the Knicks, and has them in great position to eventually return to prominence.
The players they gave up are nice, but none of them have the ceiling that Anthony does, and they’re a team that absolutely nobody is going to want to see in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Keep it here on NBA Water Cooler for further developments as the trade deadline draws near.
