The trade was on February 21, 2011. It was supposed to be a blockbuster deal that would be able to return the Knicks back to their glory days when Patrick Ewing, John Starks, and the other elite players were contending for a championship. Except this time, the hope was that the Knicks would be able to win it all, which had last happened in 1973, a little over forty-four years ago. The Knicks gave up key role players for a chance for Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Chauncey Billups to try and win a championship for the Knicks. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks, with last year being a clear indication.
During the 2016-2017 NBA regular season, the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony faced major problems. Early in the season, Phil Jackson talked to the media about how Carmelo Anthony does not belong on the New York Knicks. In fact, he began to make public claims about how the Knicks were becoming a franchise that was searching for long-term success. He wanted Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks’ upcoming star from the 2015 draft lottery, to become the face of the franchise.
Carmelo Anthony, on the other hand, had a different goal for the Knicks. Being that the 2016-2017 had been his thirteenth year in the NBA, Carmelo is in the phase of his career where he needs to focus on getting a ring, especially since not having one has become a major disadvantage when discussing whether a player can be considered as a candidate for the hall-of-fame. Thus began the clash between Carmelo and Phil Jackson. Carmelo Anthony had spent about seven seasons with the Knicks, averaging almost 25 points per game, but was not as dominant as he was with Denver. Carmelo only had a few memorable seasons in New York, for the Knicks haven’t reached the playoffs since 2013. Phil Jackson would like to have traded Carmelo Anthony, but for some unknown reason, he decided to sign Carmelo to a five-year max contract with a no-trade clause. So, unless Carmelo wanted to be traded or approved of an existing trade offer, the Knicks weren’t able to do anything. Either Carmelo or Phil Jackson had to go.
On June 28, 2017, Phil Jackson was fired from the Knicks. Now, the question of the season remained, what were the Knicks going to do about Carmelo Anthony? Should Carmelo stay with the Knicks? Through the offseason, many teams had been in discussions, looking for a trade involving Carmelo Anthony. In the beginning of the offseason, the Carmelo was looking for a possible trade to the Cavaliers. However, once Cleveland’s star point guard, Kyrie Irving, was traded to the Celtics, Carmelo decided to remove the Cavaliers from his list of teams that he would accept being traded to. After ruling out the Cavaliers, Carmelo moved on to the Rockets. Since the Rockets acquired Chris Paul and already had veteran James Harden, the Rockets would become an instant title contender with the addition of Carmelo Anthony. But, there were no terms that the Rockets and Knicks could agree on, even with the option of making it a three-team deal.
Recently, Carmelo Anthony opened up trade options with the Oklahoma City Thunder. With stars like Russell Westbrook and Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, along with the rest of the league, sees a threat and a legitimate contender in Oklahoma. Carmelo Anthony, or “Hoodie Melo,” practiced often with these two stars in public. The official trade sent Carmelo Anthony to the Thunder and Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a second-round draft picks to New York. Although Carmelo Anthony might have wanted to win a title for his hometown team, the New York Knicks, he must be glad to join the Thunder, for he has a chance to raise a championship trophy for the first time.