NBA Fantasy Fallout: Breaking Down the Carmelo Anthony Trade

Finally, after an entire season of speculation about where Carmelo Anthony would finish the season and how soon the deal would get done, we have answers. And it ended up being the answer most of us expected; Carmelo was traded to the New York Knicks. It took a long time and a lot of proposed deals, and a lot of speculation of other teams, but it’s finally all over.

And now that it’s over we can finally break down the deal and what it means for people who own one of these nine players in a fantasy league, though I really hope you don’t own some of these guys. 

New York Knicks Receive

Carmelo Anthony: This was obviously the biggest piece of this deal and the one true bona fide superstar changing hands. Carmelo is going from the highest scoring team in the league to the second highest scoring team in the league. But he’s also going from a team whose second-highest scorer averaged 16.5 points per game, and that guy is coming to New York with him.

In New York Carmelo will be playing with Amar'e Stoudemire, who is actually averaging more points than he is, with 26.1. So the question is, which one of the two will see their scoring take the hit?

The answer could be neither of them. We’ve seen with the Heat that it isn’t impossible for two guys on the same team to average 25 points or more. There is no shortage of points in the Mike D’Antoni offense.

And let’s not forget that the Knicks are also giving up nearly 50 points of offense in this deal and Chauncey Billups doesn’t need to score bunches of points to make an impact. So don’t assume either Carmelo or Amar'e will lose value with this deal. 

Chauncey Billups: Chauncey isn’t quite as happy about this deal as Carmelo is, but he’s a professional and he’s going to go to New York and give them everything he’s got. He doesn’t have the same speed or elusiveness of Raymond Felton to run the D’Antoni style offense, but he should do just fine. 

The Knicks are a bit short on playmakers, and so while I’m not sure if Chauncey will get much more than 15 or 16 points per game, I do think he’ll see a significant leap in assists to somewhere around seven to eight per game.

Another thing to consider is the importance of the three-point shot in the D’Antoni system and Chauncey is knocking over two of those per game right now as a Nugget, a number that should stay the same or grow in New York.

Shelden Williams: The Knicks gave up two small forwards, a backup power forward and a starting center in this deal, so Shelden Williams could have an impact on the Knicks team to the tune of 15 to 20 minutes per game as a backup power forward and center. Williams has had a couple nice games for the Nuggets, but I don’t know if his ceiling is much higher than the five points and five rebounds he’s averaging so far this year.

Renaldo Balkman: Chances are Balkman won’t see the floor much if at all in New York.

Anthony Carter: The same goes for Anthony Carter as it did for Balkman.

Corey Brewer: It’s not clear if this is where Brewer ultimately stays once Thursday has come and gone, but for the time being he’s in New York and will serve as the backup to Carmelo Anthony while also seeing minutes at shooting guard. Brewer is a decent play in deep leagues if he can continue getting 20 minutes per game, as he is a great guy to own for steals and he could thrive as a scorer in this system. 

Denver Nuggets Receive

Raymond Felton: The same can be said for all of the Knicks, but bear in mind there is a chance any of them could be traded to New Jersey. That said, chances are the value of Raymond Felton takes a hit here, possibly more than anyone else involved in the deal, if he stays in Denver.

Felton was averaging over 38 minutes per game in New York, but he might lose time in Denver to Ty Lawson who is too good to just ride the bench. Felton is also leaving the run-and-gun system of New York for Denver. On the bright side, the Nuggets average 107 points as a team and their top two scorers are leaving, so someone is going to have to fill that void.

Wilson Chandler: Chandler and Gallinari have the same opportunity here, the opportunity to step up and be the man for the Nuggets, which are going to be looking for a star and a top scorer.

What will be interesting is to see if the Nuggets are able to find minutes for both Chandler and Gallinari the way the Knicks were able to, provided they both end up staying on the team. If they can’t, one of them could take a hit, but if they can, I think Chandler will likely continue to produce around the same numbers he has been this year, with maybe another point per game or so.

Danilo Gallinari: This is the one guy I can see blowing up thanks to this trade. Some are suggesting Gallinari’s success was a product of the system he played in, but I am banking on that not being the case. He’s one of the more athletic big men in the sport and is just a pure natural scorer. And it’s not like the Nuggets run a half-court offense; they score a lot of points and that’s something Gallinari knows how to do.

If the Knicks find time for him, whether it be at small or power forward, I can see Gallinari averaging 20 points per game the rest of the way, assuming he stays a Nugget. This team needs a new No. 1 option on offense and Gallinari has it in him to be that guy. Chandler is the better all-around player, but in terms of scoring, the edge goes to Gallinari.

Timofey Mozgov: This was one of the central pieces of getting the deal done for Denver, and the long-term potential here is nice, making Mozgov a guy to grab in deep leagues. But in the present his value isn’t too high beyond very deep leagues. He could end up with less minutes in Denver than he had in New York as he will be the backup to Nene Hilario, a guy who is pretty good. 

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive

Anthony Randolph: After all the hype Randolph got in the offseason, it’s interesting to see him switch teams for Corey Brewer. If anyone here needed a change of scenery, it was this guy and hopefully it makes a difference.

Randolph should get the chance to wrestle away the backup power forward/center duties from the struggling Anthony Tolliver, and if he does so he could have some value, as just last year he averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in just 22.7 minutes. Don’t run out and grab him quite yet in standard leagues, but he’s worth a flier in deep leagues.

Eddy Curry: He hasn’t done anything this year or last year. The Timberwolves could give him some playing time, but it’s probably not worth gambling on. 

Summary

Winners: Danilo Gallinari, Anthony Randolph and Wesley Johnson (due to the loss of Corey Brewer)

Losers: Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov and Anthony Tolliver 
What are your thoughts on this blockbuster deal that’s been months in the making? Who are your winners or losers? Do you see Carmelo or Amar'e taking a hit on value or, like me, do you think they can both get theirs' in that offense?

Give us your thoughts and stay tuned all week as we breakdown all the big trades that go down between now and Thursday.

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