The Anthony-New York marriage was supposed to end in confetti showers and parades down Broadway, as the hometown kid from Brooklyn wanted so desperately to bring a championship to his city. Now, it seems apparent that Anthony will be unceremoniously cast out of New York for cents on the dollar.
How did it get to this point for Anthony and the Knicks? An argument can be made that the pairing was doomed from the start. The 2011 deal that sent Anthony from the Denver Nuggets to the Big Apple forced the Knicks to ship off Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov. Gallinari and Chandler became solid regulars for a talented Nuggets team, and the trade badly depleted the Knicks’ roster, especially considering Anthony could have just joined the team as a free agent the following summer.
The tandem of Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire produced playoff appearances in 2012 and 2013, but the team had a 7-14 mark in the playoffs and got out of the first round just once. Stoudemire’s knees would tragically give out and render him largely ineffective, and the barren Knicks roster struggled with Anthony carrying the full offensive burden.
The arrival of the dynamic Kristaps Porziņģis in 2015 brought renewed excitement to the Knicks. After receiving initial hatred from fans for the pick, the team almost doubled their 2014 win total, going 32-50 last season. Expectations were high in 2016 with the arrival of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, and the team raced out to an early 14-10 mark. However, the Knicks have gone 8-21 as they battle defensive deficiencies and an aging core.
Anthony has faced criticism from Knicks President Phil Jackson for his ball stopping play on offense; Anthony has a tendency to hold onto the ball for too long and operate in isolation sets. He relies heavily on mid-range jump shots, an archaic style of play that has become almost extinct in the modern NBA. Just look to the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, two of the League's most successful teams who have shifted to a small ball, high octane style that emphasizes three-point shooting.
Anthony, who is still a valuable player in this League and is capable of creating offense and putting up points, has received a lot of unfair criticism. He is averaging 22.9 points and six rebounds on 44 percent from the field and 35 percent from three. However, at this point in his career, Anthony is not capable of serving as the primary scoring option if a team hopes to be a championship contender.
Detractors have also suggested that Anthony may be stunting the development of Porziņģis, a 7 feet 2 inches wonderkid who has the talent, defensive prowess and shooting touch to be a bonafide superstar. Anthony takes too many shots for his own good at times, often preventing the young Porziņģis from asserting himself in critical situations at the end of games. With the Knicks preparing for a rebuild, it may be time to ship Anthony off and let Porziņģis develop as the primary scoring option.
With the trade deadline looming on Feb. 23, the Knicks must decide whether they wish to part with their former franchise cornerstone. Complicating matters is the fact that Anthony has a no-trade clause and can therefore veto a trade to any suitor that does not please him.
Although he can no longer be the face of a franchise, there are a number of playoff teams that could use his scoring on the wing to boost their championship credentials. A Carmelo-to-the-Cavaliers rumor has festered for weeks now, with some reports even claiming that the Cavaliers would trade Kevin Love straight up for Anthony. However, I find these claims to be ridiculous. Love is four years younger than Anthony, a superior three-point shooter, and he finally appears fully acclimated to the Cleveland roster.
Disrupting team chemistry to acquire an inferior player makes minimal sense for the Cavaliers, who should instead be targeting a backup point guard who can take some of the pressure off of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Even if the Cavaliers could acquire Anthony without giving up Love, I do not think they should pursue it. For a team already operating with a limited number of first round picks, the Cavaliers would also have to surrender vital bench players like J.R. Smith and Channing Frye in order to make the salaries work. It is also highly likely that the Knicks could get a much better return for Anthony than whatever the Cavaliers could muster up without Love.
The Los Angeles Clippers have also been mentioned as an option for Anthony, and I believe this is a more likely destination for him. Anthony is good friends with point guard Chris Paul, and the Clippers may view Anthony as an upgrade on the wing that could help them be more competitive against the Warriors and the Rockets in a playoff series.
However, the Clippers also lack substantial assets to offer the Knicks in any trade, especially if they are unwilling to part with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan. Nevertheless, it is possible that the Knicks become desperate to rid themselves of Anthony if he becomes a distraction or tells the team that he will only accept a trade to Los Angeles.
I personally believe that Anthony will only want to play in a large market, making this last option remote from the onset. However, an Anthony trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder could be mutually beneficial for all sides involved. The Thunder could offer dynamic post scorer Enes Kanter, young point guard prospect Cameron Payne, rookie stretch forward Domantas Sabonis and picks in a deal for Anthony.
The Thunder would receive a veteran scoring option on the wing to ease some of the scoring burden for Russell Westbrook, while keeping their core, Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo, intact. The Knicks would get an excellent return for their star, setting them up to successfully rebuild around Porziņģis and a multitude of young talent.
It is unlikely that Anthony would approve of a move to the Thunder, but it would put him in position to play on a playoff-contending team alongside a top-five star in Russell Westbrook. Regardless of the outcome, it seems apparent that Carmelo Anthony’s days in New York are numbered. Where he ends up is anyone's guess at this point.
