*Finally, Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks are rid of each other. Anthony is headed to Oklahoma City where’s he’ll join Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
The deal went down early this morning. The Knicks agreed to trade Anthony to the Thunder and saved themselves a potentially awkward reunion next week with the player they’d been trying to deal since last season.
And what’s in the deal for New York? According to an AP report, they will get Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a draft pick, a person with knowledge of the deal said.
The Knicks had said just a day earlier that they expected Anthony to be there when they reported for camp Monday. But it was clear they didn’t want him anymore and he no longer wanted to be in New York, where he arrived with so much hype that was never fulfilled in February 2011.
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This deal should make both parties pretty happy. Melo didn’t want to be with the Knicks and and they didn’t him around, either. Plus, now Anthony finally has a championship core around him in Oklahoma City along with Westbrook, the NBA MVP, and fellow All-Star George, who was acquired from Indiana this summer.
BTW, the Knicks open the regular season at Oklahoma City on Oct. 19. That means Anthony will see his old them, real soon.
The deal was able to happen because Anthony agreed to waive his no-trade clause. And since he didn’t want to stay in NYC with the Knicks, playing with Westbrooks and Paul George is a hellava reason to say yes. Also, in OKC, can possibly settle into the spot-up shooter role he’s played in the Olympics, where he’s won a record three gold medals and is the career scoring leader for the U.S. men.
We’ll see how it goes.
