Revisiting the Carmelo Anthony Trade



He plays defense like this too.



Looking back to the middle of the NBA season, all the hype surrounded Carmelo Anthony.  Was he staying in Denver?  Would he be traded to the Nets? Would he be traded to the Knicks?  Would he be traded to the Lakers???  Melo was shipped to New York along with Chauncey Billups and several others in a package for Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, and two more players.  This move was supposed to give the Knicks the opportunity to compete with Chicago, Boston, and Miami in the East, while Denver was supposed to slip out of playoff contention and be content with building for next year.

What resulted from this deal? The complete opposite.  The Nuggets were 32-25 when the trade occured. Since? 18-6 and have wrapped up the #5 seed in the Western Conference with a cumulative 50-31 record.  The Knicks sported a 28-26 record before the trade, and are now 42-38, playing near .500 basketball at 14-12 since Anthony came to town. 

Why has this trade not worked out?  First, playing Anthony at Small Forward as opposed to Chandler or Gallinari gives the Knicks less size on defense (as well as less work ethic).  Second, Anthony is not a good fit in Mike D'Antoni's offense and neither is Billups.  Both those players are more comfortable in a half court offense, as opposed to the up-tempo one D'Antoni runs.  Clearly the Knicks can adjust their offense around Anthony, but that will take time and Knicks fans are pretty impatient...  Finally, the loss of Chandler and Gallinari limits the amount of frontcourt players the Knicks can play in their rotation.  Can they really rely on major minutes off the bench from Shawne Williams and Jared Jeffries? I didn't think so.

Wilson Chandler and his fellow
former Knicks have thrived
in Denver

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets are thriving.  The superb play of both Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson gives Denver a constant scoring threat from the backcourt to compliment Aron Afflalo's defense and JR Smith's offense at the SG position.  Their frontcourt is now extremely deep with Nene, Chris Anderson, Kenyon Martin, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, and Al Harrington.  The Nuggets enter their playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a lot of confidence, while the Knicks have struggled to find their rhythm and now face arguably the top defensive team in the league!  As Marilynn always says, and is right about "Carmelo Anthony? Whatever!"

Analyzing the Carmelo Anthony Trade

Hey guys, sorry about the lack of updates this week!  I was up in Minneapolis on Tuesday and Wednesday for a job fair.  Luckily this fair was worth my time, as I have two (maybe three) second interviews next week so wish me luck!  Anyways, this Thursday was the NBA trade deadline, and a lot of deals went down that could have a strong impact on the NBA not only in this year's playoffs, but for years to come.  The headliner of these deals? A blockbuster deal that resulted in Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks.  Below are the exact details of the trade:

Carmelo debuted against the Bucks on Wednesday

New York Knicks acquire: 

• Carmelo Anthony, Forward
• Chauncey Billups, Guard
• Shelden Williams, Forward
• Renaldo Balkman, Forward
• Anthony Carter, Guard
• Corey Brewer, Forward

Gallinari went for 30 points against the Blazers

Denver Nuggets acquire:

• Danilo Gallinari, Forward
• Wilson Chandler, Forward
• Raymond Felton, Guard
• Timofey Mozgov, Center        
• Kosta Koufos, Center
• Knicks first-round pick (2014 or later)
• Warriors' second-round picks in 2012 and 2013
• $3 million

The Knicks essentialy traded the core of their team apart from Amare Stoudemire for Carmelo, the hometown star.  The Knicks are making this deal assuming Carmelo is going to sign an extension, which is a proposed 3 years for $65 million.  However, in my opinion, the purpose of this deal is to put forth a strong core to attract a free-agent point guard to New York.  Chauncey Billups is serviceable for the time being, but clearly the Knicks have their sights on either Chris Paul or Deron Williams in summer 2012.  At that point the Knicks would be able to compete with the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference, as Boston may have dropped off a bit at point with their superstars aging. 

However, I think Denver makes out better from this current deal.  Playing Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler along with Nene Hilario on the front line gives Denver two things: (1) great size (2) flexibility.  Both Gallinari and Chandler are proven three-point shooters, and both can create mismatches at the small forward position.  Team them with SG Aron Afflalo, who is developing into a threat on the offensive end, his defense has been excellent for a while, and either Ty Lawson or Raymond Felton (UNC reunion!).  The Western Conference is pretty wide open, assuming San Antonio doesn't hold up throughout the entire season and the Lakers don't regain last year's form, and Denver still has a chance to make some noise in the playoffs if everyone can gel.  J.R. Smith should get more looks now that Melo is gone, so watch out if he gets hot!  As for the Knicks, their porous defense can't compete against the likes of Miami, Boston, and Chicago throughout a seven game series.  Carmelo adds little on defense, and the loss of Chandler gives the Knicks even less presence inside in regards to a weakness they had before the trade.