Isiah did it, baby!
No, I'm just kidding. My first reaction to this trade is that I'm glad it's over!
One week is about all of the emotional energy I have to spend on a trade rumor. And this Carmelo Anthony nonsense has been going on for about a year now.
As much as I tried to escape it and tune it out, I couldn't because every time I looked up someone was writing or talking about it; so I'm just really glad it's finally over!
I usually try to avoid snap judgments on moves like this because my initial reaction will always change one week later. But I'll go ahead and say something in the moment for a change.
A few days ago, when it started looking like the trade to New York was really going to happen, I started doing my due diligence. I went back and looked at film on Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Anthony Randolph, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and others and reviewed some stats.
Carmelo Anthony is really good.
Most people will say "duh" to that statement, but going all the way back to the 2003 draft, I've never been all that high on him compared to other stars in the league.
There was a brief time, at the start of the 2006-07 season, that he caught my attention and looked like the greatest player I had ever seen. Then he got suspended for sucker-punching Mardy Collins and never really got back to that level of play and hasn't been on my radar since.
But he has game.
My only criticisms of him are defensive. He loses track of his man from time to time when playing off the ball, and as Zach Lowe pointed out, his constant switching on defense can be described as somewhat lazy.
Other than that (and not addressing the shame of him not playing his entire career with the same team), what a steal!
To think that the Knicks gave up "too much" to get Carmelo Anthony is ludicrous.
Are you kidding me? Have you looked at this roster?
Without giving up Stoudemire, it would be impossible for New York to give up too much to get Anthony.
New York could have traded their entire roster other than Amar'e Stoudemire and invited people to walk in off the streets for open tryouts at Madison Square Garden to fill out the rest of the team, and they still wouldn't have given up too much to get Anthony.
This team is 28-26 and struggling to survive at the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff race. The rest of their roster and $6 might get you a good cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Looking at their potential starting lineup now, I love it: Chauncey Billups, Landry Fields, Anthony, Stoudemire and Ronny Turiaf.
Fields and Turiaf are key because they are hustle players who don't demand shots. Those qualities will go a long way with this group.
The potential issues, like coachability and chemistry between the two stars, will be addressed at a later time.
For now, this looks like a huge win for New York and the NBA and a huge loss for Denver and other second cities around the league.
Like Michael Douglas famously said in Wall Street, "Greed is good!"
The league has clearly gotten greedy here. It's no longer enough to have some of its big-market teams on the map; they want all of them on point and all at the same time.
They see the TV ratings and the media attention and the attendance when the "Heatles" go on the road, and they want more!
More! More! More!
Minnesota is another winner in this deal. I was high on Corey Brewer at one point, but getting rid of Brewer and his costly gambling on defense is addition by subtraction, and Anthony Randolph looks like possibly the best player leaving the Big Apple to me.
But keep in mind that I may feel differently 10 days from now.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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