Carmelo Anthony: Why Melo Is the Perfect Fit for the New York Knicks
Carmelo Anthony's time with the Denver Nuggets appears to be coming to an end and the New York Knicks are one of many teams that are working tirelessly to acquire the four time NBA All Star.
New York currently sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 28-26.
There is a strong likelihood that playoff basketball will return to Madison Square Garden for the first time since 2001, but the Knicks are still noticeably behind Eastern Conference Frontrunners such as Boston, Miami and Chicago.
It may sound blatantly obvious, but New York needs another elite talent to pair with Amare Stoudemire and the young nucleus of talent that is on the Knicks roster.
This is, of course, the reason why New York Knicks front office personnel have shoved all their chips out on to the table in an effort to land Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony has played the first seven years of his NBA career in the smaller media market that is Denver, Colorado and the former Syracuse star would be immediately embraced by “New Yorkers.”
At 6’8" 230 lb, Anthony could slide in and play the small forward position, which would provide assistance to Amare who plays a “rover” style of basketball at the power forward position.
The Knicks already have a promising young talent in Danilo Gallinari, who is playing the small forward position at a high level by scoring 15.9 points per game. The arrival of Carmelo Anthony wouldn’t signal the end of Danilo’s minutes though and I’m confident that the collective brainpower of the aforementioned James Dolan and head coach Mike D’Antoni would be able to maximize the talents of Anthony, Stoudemire and Gallinari.
We have seen that an NBA franchise can consistently make the playoffs with one superstar and a solid supporting cast. To truly be an NBA title contender, a team needs to bring together two superstars to play off of each other and tackle the imposing task of winning an NBA Championship together.
Denver is in neutral as a franchise and in all likelihood, their opportunity to make a serious run at the crown has come and gone. The Nuggets are still projected to make the playoffs out of the Western Conference and are holding down the seventh spot in the West. With aging talents such as Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups in the starting lineup though, Denver is hardly a team that is built for the future with the kind of young talent that the Knicks have.
With the exception of Stoudemire, the entire New York Knicks starting lineup is 26 years old or younger. Without a doubt, the Knicks have ensured that good basketball will be played at Madison Square Garden for the foreseeable future, but with the addition of Carmelo Anthony, they could ensure that “championship level” basketball is played for the foreseeable future.
This is a muddled affair and there are many variables and moving parts in play. A deal involving talents of the magnitude doesn't get done overnight and it will take heavy lifting from both the Knicks and Nuggets camp to get the job done.
Denver wants a boatload of riches in order to part with Anthony and the it will be up to both sides to work out a mutually beneficial agreement that ends with Carmelo donning a New York Knicks jersey.
New York is working tirelessly and exploring all possible options in regard to bringing Anthony to "The Big Apple". James Dolan and company realize the impact that Carmelo could have on the Knicks franchise and they are trying to present the Nuggets with a deal that would entice Denver to part ways with their prized asset.
