Carmelo Anthony Trade: Can the New York Knicks Win With This Lineup?

Carmelo Anthony's move to the New York Knicks changes nothing: The Knicks still can't compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference. 

The Knicks acquired the former Syracuse star late Monday night, and he is now finally able to play for his hometown team.

The Nuggets did not easily part with Anthony, however. The Knicks had to deal three starters in order to acquire him.

The trade leaves the Knicks with two top-end talents in Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, an experienced point guard in Chauncey Billups, multi-talented rookie Landry Fields—and not much else. 

Despite all the buzz over the Miami Heat this offseason, it's the Celtics and Spurs who are the two best teams in the NBA.

The NBA is still a team—not individual—sport, and just like the Heat, this trade leaves the Knicks with superstar players, but not much else.

Ronny Turiaf, Shawne Williams and Bill Walker will now have to pick up the slack, as this trade leaves the Knicks with little depth outside their starters. 

Outside of Toney Douglas, the Knicks do not have much of a bench. Melo and Stoudemire will have to play big minutes every night for this team to compete.

Playing all those minutes will create wear and tear on the body. Melo and Stoudemire have both missed small amounts of time this season with minor injuries.

One major injury could instantly derail this team's playoff hopes.

Also, we all saw how long it took for the Heat players to develop chemistry with each other and start playing good basketball.

It will surely take time to integrate Anthony and Billups into the Knicks' up-tempo offense. With the NBA season more than halfway over, hopefully the team figures out how to play together before the playoffs start.

Most importantly, it's defense that wins championships. Scoring was not the Knicks' problem—it was defense. The Knicks already allow over 105 points a game—second worst in the NBA.

Adding Melo does nothing to help solve this problem. They are now probably worse in the defensive category, as they now have fewer healthy bodies to throw around.

An aging Chauncey Billups (34 years old) at the point guard position will also be another defensive liability.

The Knicks are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference, and although adding Melo should improve the team, they are still not as good as the top four teams in the East.

A rise to the fifth seed is possible, and the Knicks could win their first playoff series since 2000. But this team's ceiling is the divisional round.

Great teams win NBA championships. This is not a great team—it just contains two great players.