carmelo anthony

Seven and a half years later, how did the Melo trade go?

Now that Melo is long gone from the New York Knicks, how did the trade actually turn out?

February 21st, 2011 was one of the most exciting days for me as a Knicks fan. After hoping to hit a Grand Slam with landing Lebron and or a player like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Knicks hit a single with the exciting, yet oft-injured, Amare Stoudemire.

Amare was great for those first few months when he was the primary scoring option surrounded by roles players. The Knicks were competitive and playoff bound, but we all knew they needed another significant star. 

In July 2011, then Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony was set to become an unrestricted Free Agent and had express serious interest in coming home and joining the Knicks. New York had cap space to sign another max deal and did not need to make a big trade.

Well, the Knicks being the Knicks did not want to take any chances and traded pretty much the whole supporting cast to Amare’s show. The Knicks traded away Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, their 2014 first-round draft pick and 2016 swap rights. In return, they received Melo and Chauncey Billups.

At the time, like any fan of a team that acquires a top 10 player, a lot of fans were extremely excited. Melo was one of the best pure scorers in the league and immediately became the best player on the Knicks since Patrick Ewing. Chauncey Billups was a nice piece as well (even though they wasted their amnesty clause on him). 

Some fans had some valid hesitations with the trade. A lot was given up including fan favorite Wilson Chandler and up-and-coming Danilo Gallinari. Also, trading future first-rounder’s usually isn’t a good thing. Why trade all that if they can just sign him in the off-season? A very reasonable concern. 

Looking back at all the assets they traded away, none of those players ever became close to the player Melo was. Chandler is a lifelong role player, Gallo has been injured often and never really became the star Knicks fans wanted him to become when they drafted him. Felton was solid, but no one lost sleep over that decision and Mozgov was half-decent but again, no one lost any sleep.

The draft picks that they traded turned out to be Dario Saric and Jamal Murray. Both of whom are already contributors and Murray seems to be on his way to stardom. Would the Knicks have drafted both of them or even had those exact picks? There is no way tell.

Carmelo Anthony was the best player to walk into the Garden on a nightly basis during this century. The 54 win team in 2013 was by far the best season the Knicks have had since they last made the NBA Finals. The real reason they did not ultimately succeed in bringing a championship to the streets of Manhattan, is simply because of poor management. The Andrea Bargnani trade was an absolute albatross. Melo always played better with a good point guard and the Knicks got over-anxious and signed Tyson Chandler and left no room for CP3 who pretty much did everything except tell the Knicks to save cap space for him. As previously mentions, the amnesty was wasted on Billups and should’ve been used on Amare. Melo and Amare were never a good fit next to each other and neither made the other one better.

Overall, I think it was a good trade. They had a perennial All-Star who did not back down from Lebron or Boston. None of the players they traded turned out to be great and in an era where team success is predicated on having 3 Hall of Famers, those kind of guys help but ultimately don’t win anything for you. 

If the Knicks management did a better job building around Melo, they would’ve been a better team and could have attracted some better free agents. It was the right trade even if they could have gotten him less than 5 months later for without mortgaging the future. As we see today (see George, Paul), minds can be changed in just a few months and there aren’t any guarantees.

Reminiscing on the former New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony era is bittersweet. There were plenty of highs but also plenty, plenty of lows. The Knicks only made one playoff appearance during the Melo Era, but he did bring great joy and excitement to the Garden that went missing after the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Anthony brought excitement with his two biggest shots in the same game 6 years ago.

Easter. 2012. Knicks vs. Bulls at the sold-out Garden.  Not so much a rivalry like it was during the Ewing, Jordan era, but the players, and especially the fans, still got up for these games. The Bulls were atop of the Eastern Conference being led by reigning MVP Derrick Rose.  The Knicks were fighting for the 8th spot in the playoffs and slipping.  Not ideal.  Since the Knicks were unsure of their playoffs hopes, unlike the Bulls, this game was treated as if it was Game 7 of the Eastern Finals.

The Knicks playing for a playoff spot, played the Bulls tight the entire game.  Anthony and Rose would be exchange baskets pretty much all game until the 4th quarter came.  It was Melo’s time to takeover.  The crowd was locked into this game along with the nationally televised audience.

The Bulls had a 3 point lead, 91-88, with Derrick Rose at the free throw line.  Rose misses the backend of his 2 free throws and J.R. Smith pulls down the board, quickly looking for, who else, Melo.  Melo gets the ball with 17.5 seconds left in the 4th quarter and begins up the floor.  The Garden is already on their feet.  Everyone in the county knows the ball is going up.  However, we didn’t think it be that quick.  With Taj Gibson trying to check Melo, he takes two dribbles past mid court and launches a 3 from the right side of the court, a little farther from the foul line extended.

First, when Melo chucks 3’s like he did in this situation, it just looks awkward and doesn’t look like it should drop.  However, this had a differrent feel to it.   With the ball being launched into the air every fan who wasn’t already on their feet stood up. With Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen calling the game brought extra excitement to the shot as Melo crossed halfcourt…

Mike Breen – “Should the Bulls foul?”

Jeff Van Gundy – “No.”

Mike Breen – “Anthony for three…BANG!”

What a call!  Hilarious commentary and fantastic shot, right in the grill of Gibson.  Melo and Garden went wild. It truly felt like a playoff game.  Melo forces overtime, capping off a 10-0 Knicks run to end the game. Fast forward.  The Bulls control the overtime, again take the lead and the Knicks are again playing from behind.  Seventeen seconds left, Knicks with the ball and Coach Mike Woodson lets them play.  Thank god, because we can’t stand timeouts in big situations, ruins the flow of the game.

Melo with the ball at the top of the key.  Now, Luol Deng is trying to check Melo.  Melo has his players clear out and takes a slow dribble to basically the same exact spot from where he tied the game in the 4th quarter.  Everyone knows it’s going up.  This time, with Melo staring down Deng, puts up a much nicer looking shot, as compared to his game-tying 3, and the basket couldn’t have been bigger for Melo that day.   Van Gundy and Breen on the call.

Breen – “Mike Woodson not calling timeout.”

Van Gundy – “I like that move.”

Breen – “In the hands of Anthony. Anthony for 3…PUTS IT IN! KNICKS BY 1 WITH 8.2 REMAINING!”

Again the Garden, Melo, literally everyone went nuts.  What a time to be alive.  I can still remember how exciting that game was.  This was during the time when people thought Melo wasn’t clutch.  This performance shut up all the haters.

It was Melo’s best performance as a Knick since coming over from Denver.  His 43-point outburst helped the Knicks get the W and ultimately make the playoffs as the 7th seed, before getting bounced by the Heat in the first round.  However, those two shots from Melo were the biggest and most exciting shots of his Knicks career.  Seeing the Garden erupt like they did for those two shots is something that we all wish to see again soon.