An End to the Melo-Drama: Anthony Heads to New York

BY STEPHANIE STOUFFER

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His friends call him ‘Melo’ but the trade negotiations were more of a Melo-drama. After months of talks, the deal is finally done and Carmelo Anthony is a Knickerbocker. But was the wait worth it? NBA TV’s Kyle Montgomery breaks down the historic trade.

“Carmelo Anthony gets what most assume that he wanted, and that is traded to the New York Knicks. Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter are also heading to NYC in exchange for Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, Danilo Gallinari and two draft picks.”

Not to mention ‘Melo gets a hefty three-year $65 million dollar extension in the deal. But after nearly 300 days of all Anthony all the time, Knicks fans are wondering if losing their young talent was worth the Denver superstar. An NBA analyst for ESPN says the New York front office doesn’t share their concern.

“I think the Knicks came to the conclusion that it was more important to get the star and worry about the supporting cast later. If they have to rebuild the supporting cast that’s preferable to not having a second star.”

On CBS Sports, blogger Royce Young says the trade was worth every penny and Anthony has every reason to be excited.

“It was a steep price to pay but, I mean, when you’re talking about acquiring one of the top 5 or 10 superstars in the league, you’re gonna have to pay a pretty heavy price ... Forget playing in Madison Square Garden, forget being the New York Knicks, this is an attractive team to play on because they’re potentially a championship contender.”

Still, Knicks fans are conflicted. New York’s Fox affiliate found some mixed reactions when they hit the streets.

FAN 1: “You gotta give to get, you know, so they’re on the right road. Somewhere in the future we’ll get one of those guys back, but for now we’ve got Carmelo, so that’s the main thing.”
FAN 2: “They gave up too much... they could’ve gotten him by giving up less.”
FAN 3: “They gave up a lot, but it better pay off, that’s it. We haven’t had a playoff in a long time and we deserve it. This is where basketball started. Bring it here.”

Writer Clay Travis agrees with the optimism, saying the deal was just what the Knicks needed to get to the next level.

“Carmelo Anthony isn't the savior of New York Knick basketball, but he is a missing piece that will allow the creation of a championship-contending team. Was he expensive? Yes. But did the Knicks overpay? Not if being relevant is the goal, they didn't.”

But Sports Illustrated asks, what about the team out west? Rather than focusing on the needy Nugget, they commend Denver on walking away from a potentially deadly situation with merely a flesh wound.

“People mocked Masai Ujiri, Denver’s rookie general manager, saying he was in over his head ... But Ujiri has taken a franchise player who did not want to return to his team next season and flipped him for actual NBA assets with actual NBA value.”

According to Bloomberg, ticket prices for games at the Garden increased three-fold upon release of the trade news, and New York’s CBS affiliate says the Knicks hope to have Anthony in uniform by Wednesday.

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