The Knicks financed the future for the present in acquiring veteran scorer Carmelo Anthony.
Well, the 'Melo-drama is finally over. The New York Knicks, and not the New Jersey Nets, acquired Carmelo Anthony from Denver in a three team trade that also involved the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It will be interesting to see how the Knicks gel with Anthony and his presence will more than make up for the scoring lost in Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, but both Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire are guys that need the ball. Will Chauncey Billups push the ball up the court and play the same way Raymond Felton did? Make no mistake: Felton was the engine that drove the offence in New York.
It is also apparent that New York gave up a lot to get Anthony; some good young players and young vets, but hey, you have to give something to get something. This deal also reinforces something that I have always felt: building for a long term future is one of the most over rated things in sports. Young players are necessary and you need to develop them because they will look attractive to some other team at some point and that's when you trade them for more established players or stars if you have the chance.
The Knicks have done that and New York now becomes a destination for big names because they have two stars going forward in Stoudemire and Anthony. It will be interesting to see how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement impacts the scope of player movement ... and parity. Could the NBA become a league with clusters of star squads and upper echelon teams playing against helpless bottom feeders? Regardless, for the time being, the Knicks have two big name players. There is speculation that the next part to the creation of a big three in New York is a point man in either Deron Williams or Chris Paul. The CBA will certainly be a factor, but we'll see!
But there is another layer to onion as you peel back what happened with the trade. There are reports that former Knicks' coach and general manager Isiah Thomas was working behind the scenes with owner James Dolan to get the trade finalized. Current general manager Donnie Walsh was against "gutting" the team to acquire Anthony and because of the way it happened there is speculation that after being undermined, Walsh is on his way out, one way or another, in New York.
Former Raptors' player arrested
Former Toronto Raptors Jarrett Jack has landed himself in some hot water. He was arrested for DUI on Monday.
