Carmelo Anthony Trade: Why the Knicks Are Right Where They Were Before Melo

Carmelo Anthony finally got his wish.

After months of haggling and bargaining, he was finally traded to his hometown New York Knicks. While the Knicks got a great player in return, they didn't get the superstar they have been craving since Patrick Ewing was traded to the (then) Seattle Supersonics.

The cost? Four starters, three draft picks and $3 million to the Denver Nuggets for Anthony, Chauncey Billups and a bunch of roster fillers.

Back to the lack of a superstar acquisition for the Knicks.

There is no doubt that Carmelo is one of the top offensive players in the league, maybe even the best. But is that enough to be considered a superstar?

What sets guys like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and others apart from Carmelo is their willingness to play defense, and the role of playmaker from time to time, in addition to being offensive powers. Those traits are something that Carmelo and new teammate Amare Stoudemire haven't been known to possess in the past. If those mindsets change, the Knicks will have great success.

Looking at the other side of that trade, I really dislike what the Knicks parted with to get Anthony, even though I understand why the move HAD to be made. However, the Knicks gave away four starters who would make great role players with Anthony and Stoudemire. Wilson Chandler is a 6'8" wing player, who was a decent defender and shooter. Danilo Galinari is a 6'10"-6'11" wing/post who was a three-point specialist, a perfect fit in Mike D'Antoni's offensive system. Raymond Felton is having the best year of his career, and Timofey Mosgov was a 7'0" prospect with some upside.

Maybe these four players will never develop into stars, but they have a great chance to be excellent role players, which is what the Knicks now need.

While I understand the chance to acquire a top 10 NBA player (extreme lower half, in my opinion), paying that price for him was pretty steep, given the salary numbers of Anthony and Stoudemire next season—especially when the chances of acquiring this player during free agency were high to extremely high.

By trading for Carmelo now and signing him to that extension, they have put their chances of signing a Chris Paul or Deron Williams at low to slim. This has the chance to be something special, but at the same time hasn't really changed anything in New York, except for heightened expectations.

While I understand the move, the price was very steep.

Will it pay off for the Knicks? It remains to be seen.