"It hasn't sunk in, the fact that I'm a New York Knick. I feel like I'm still dreaming right now. It was a dream come true for myself."
Those words were from Carmelo Anthony's introductory press conference on February 23, 2011, a day after being traded from the Denver Nuggets.
This weekend, Anthony's dream has come to an acrimonious end.
On Saturday, two days before the start of training camp, Anthony was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. According to league officials, the Thunder will send Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick (via the Chicago Bulls) to New York. Anthony will waive his no-trade clause and his $8 million trade kicker to complete the deal.
The Knicks don't get much in return, but the Knicks did not have much leverage. The trade allows the Knicks to finally move on from Anthony, and try to continue rebuilding through their youth movement and build around Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks will need to replace Anthony's scoring and will be a mess defensively and still have one of the worse backcourts in the NBA, which means they should be bad enough to warrant a top five pick in next year's loaded draft.
Anthony's tenure with the Knicks will be remembered as a tempestuous one. He will go down as one of the best pure scorers in Knicks history. He has the third highest scoring average in Knicks history (24.7) trailing only Bob Mcadoo (26.7) and Bernard King (26.5). He has the Knicks scoring record, scoring 62 points against Charlotte Bobcats in 2014. In 2012-2013, he led the Knicks to 54 wins, won the scoring title (28.7 ppg) and finished third in MVP voting, which was the highest finish for a Knick in nearly 30 years.That season is arguably one of the greatest in Knicks history; it's right up there with Patrick Ewing in 1990, Willis Reed in 1970 and Bernard King in 1984.
He is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever put on a Knick uniform. But his scoring prowess did not translate into much team success. Anthony was able to lead the Knicks to the playoffs his first three years, but was only able to get past the first round once (2013). The Knicks missed the playoffs in Anthony's final four seasons, with a dismal record of 117-211.
He is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever put on a Knick uniform. But his scoring prowess did not translate into much team success. Anthony was able to lead the Knicks to the playoffs his first three years, but was only able to get past the first round once (2013). The Knicks missed the playoffs in Anthony's final four seasons, with a dismal record of 117-211.
There were far too many occasions where he would disregard the play and revert to isolation basketball, especially during crunch time.
He was never a willing defender; and displayed the same poor defensive habits he's always had since coming into the league. He didn't always fight over screens, lost sight of his man too often and consistently failed to contest shooters.
Remember this?
Last season, Anthony finished 66 out of 70 qualified small forwards in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus.
He has always opted to do what was best for him financially, including demanding a trade to the Knicks in the middle of the season (instead of waiting to sign with the Knicks in Summer), which gutted them all of their assets, in order to sign a three-year, $65 million extension. In 2015, he waited until after the all-star break before deciding to have season ending knee surgery, which slowed him down the next two seasons.
Some may point to the constant turnover during Anthony's tenure. During his seven seasons; Anthony played under five different coaches and 72 different players. Seventy-two!!! He and Phil Jackson had one of the most dysfunctional relationships in sports history. To his credit, Anthony handled Phil Jackson's public criticism that would put Ron Fowler to shame and push his no-trade clause (a clause that he gave Anthony in 2014) better than anyone could hope for. But the great ones should find a way to rise above their situation and at least get into the playoffs.
None of that matters anymore; Anthony is finally free from the Knicks' dysfunction. It will be hard to grasp that fact that he now plays for the Thunder. With the reigning MVP Russell Westbrook and newly acquired superstar Paul George, this Thunder team on paper looks like the best team Anthony has ever played for. The Thunder are still the fourth best team in the West behind the Warriors, Spurs and Rockets. With a little luck, they can reach the Western Conference Finals, something Anthony hasn't done in nearly a decade.
As for the Knicks, they can only hope Porzingis takes that next step and becomes their next superstar. As much as Anthony loved playing in New York, his experience ended up being bittersweet, luckily for him, he doesn't have to wait long to get his revenge. With the season less than a month away, the Thunder open their season at home against the Knicks.
As for the Knicks, they can only hope Porzingis takes that next step and becomes their next superstar. As much as Anthony loved playing in New York, his experience ended up being bittersweet, luckily for him, he doesn't have to wait long to get his revenge. With the season less than a month away, the Thunder open their season at home against the Knicks.
