Carmelo Anthony Trade: Top 10 Reasons the New York Knicks Didn't Win This Deal
The most talked about trade has finally ended.
With trade talk beginning as early as mid-summer when Carmelo declined to sign a three-year contract extension, Anthony has held the sports media world at his fingertips.
Now, being in New York with Denver teammate Chauncey Billups, Carmelo also gets to be along side A'mare Stoudemire.
However, since they have yet to tip things off in New York with this new club, allow me to play devil's advocate.
Some reasons are short-term, and some are long-term—only time will tell.
So with all this being said, here are the top 10 reasons why the Knicks came out short-handed just before the trade deadline.
10. Long-Term Implications
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The fans, media and obviously anyone directly affiliated with the New York Knicks will be shocked if they do not have a consistently good team for the foreseeable future.
Playing devil's advocate in this part is tough because watching old rivalries come back is what makes watching sports fun.
However, if the Knicks do not end up working well together over the course of the next few seasons, there will most definitely be skeptics brewing.
For the remainder of the 2010-2011 season, they should receive a "Hall Pass" so-to-speak since you can't expect them to just automatically have team chemistry.
9. Mike D'Antoni's Defense
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With the players they had before, New York was a rather respectable offensive team.
Now? They have the ability to lead the NBA in scoring offense by season's end.
That, however, comes with a price.
Unfortunately, a lack of defense is what Mike D'Antoni coached teams are also known for.
In his years as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, they allowed an average of 102 points per game. Yikes.
8. Star Status
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Even with Chauncey Billups in Denver, Carmelo Anthony stole the show every time he took the floor.
And since the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, A'mare Stoudemire has been the basketball king of New York.
As long as they can play together and win games, great.
But if either one of these guys consistently wants the spotlight on him on-and-off the court, some bad blood could possibly begin to stir.
At first this may seem highly unlikely, but with such high reputations and egos, they have to adapt their ways.
7. The Heavy Cost
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In addition to New York receiving Anthony and Billups, they also are getting Sheldon Williams, Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman from Denver.
Denver receives Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov.
However, the Nuggets are also receiving the Knicks' 2014 first-round draft pick (along with two second-round picks), as well as three million dollars in cash.
6. Impatience
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The city of New York wants nothing but winners. Immediately.
They expect their beloved Yankees to win the World Series every year (anything less is unacceptable), and the Giants recently won the Super Bowl in 2007.
As for the Knicks: There have been no NBA titles since 1973, and it's been over a decade since their last Eastern Conference title.
With the team they now have, if they do not hit the ground running there will be some tension floating around the Big Apple.
(Doesn't Spike Lee look like he's getting a bit impatient?)
5. Expectations
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So we know New Yorkers are going to want immediate results.
So what about the rest of the basketball world?
For as much as this has been talked about, there will be rather high expectations for not only this season, but also for every season this group is together.
Some of it also may be internal motives since all three involved (Anthony, Billups and Stoudemire) know they themselves are great players.
If the Knicks fail to be at least competitive come playoff time, don't be surprised if they get looked down upon throughout the offseason.
However, from the 2011-2012 season on, they will be expected to not only compete for an NBA Championship, but win more than one as well.
4. What If the Denver Nuggets Finish Better Each Year?
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Okay, so there are high expectations in New York.
However, no one is talking about the Denver Nuggets.
Obviously a smaller market with now much less notable players.
But, what if the Nuggets finish off better than New York each year for the next four or five seasons?
This includes the regular season record, postseason success and ultimately the championships.
Now I'm not saying that Denver is going to come out with the Western Conference, but much like anything in sports, only time will tell.
Imagine how badly this would reflect on New York, IF Denver has more success.
It is beyond extremely unlikely, but nonetheless we can only wait and see.
3. Competition
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Being in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference means one thing and one thing only—the Boston Celtics.
Move outside of the Atlantic Division and you have the likes of the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic.
Furthermore, anyone left on their schedule other than these teams will also be gunning for the Knicks.
New York has to expect everyone's A-game for the rest of the season, regardless of the opponent.
2. Collective Bargaining Agreement
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For as much as the Knicks spent on this trade, what do they have left?
Well, the hard salary cap slamming down across the NBA will cap-out New York with Anthony and Billups earning just under the league max.
That also leaves virtually no room to sign another big free agent, (i.e. Dwight Howard, Chris Paul or Deron Williams) who all become free agents in 2012.
New York will now need to show even better salesmanship when it comes to adding talented depth.
1. Actual Success
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Regardless of how many division championships, conference championships, NBA All-Stars, or team/individual records they set, NBA Championships are what counts the most.
They are far away, which is fine, but being in New York with what the Knicks now have?
The number of rings these guys bring back to Gotham City is what determines the verdict.
People play competitive sports because they care about the results.
When you played, did you want to lose?
Carmelo wanted to come to New York to win the NBA Championship, much like LeBron and Chris Bosh in Miami. The same goes for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen when they came to Boston.
Being No. 1 is what it's all about, and if you play for anything less, you will receive anything but.
