After months of the New York Knicks being rumored to trade their 10-time all star, Carmelo Anthony, it finally happened. On Saturday, September 23rd, the Knicks moved Melo to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second round pick. This truly is the end of an era for Anthony, as he will join Russell Westbrook and Paul George to form a fierce big three. his means a lot for both teams, but it is clearly the Knicks who made some clear statements with this trade.
3 Things the Carmelo Anthony Trade Means for the New York Knicks
Youth Movement
Anthony was the only Knick in their projected starting five who was older than 25. The Knicks starting five will look similar, except with McDermott or Michael Beasley at small forward. Beasley is also over 25, but is only 28. The Knicks are clearly motivated to have a young team.
The only veterans the Knicks signed who was on the wrong side of 30 were Ramon Sessions and Jarrett Jack. The Knicks projected starting point guard, Frank Ntilikina, is just 19-years-old. Dirk Nowitzki has been in the NBA longer than Ntilikina has been alive. It’s a long time coming to say this, but the Knicks finally aren’t one of the oldest NBA teams.
Good Young Talent
After trading Carmelo, the Knicks showed that they do not just have young players, they have talented young players. At point guard, they have the FIBA under 18 MVP in Ntilikina. At shooting guard, they have Tim Hardaway Jr. Hardaway proved to be valuable for the Atlanta Hawks, as after the 2017 All Star break, he averaged 20.1 points per game. Hardaway also has been working with Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard, Dwyane Wade. The Miami Heat legend praised the young guard, saying how he was effective on both sides of the court. At small forward it is still a toss-up between Beasley and McDermott. If they start Beasley, then they have a proven scorer and solid defender at the three.
Does the Power Forward even need to be mentioned? At the four the Knicks have their franchise player and captain in Kristaps Porzingis. At center the Knicks have Willy Hernangomez. He is coming off making the NBA all-rookie first team. Hermangomez was a nice surprise for the Knicks, as he came out of nowhere. He averaged 16 points and 14 rebounds per 36 minutes last year. The Knicks also now have Enes Kanter, who is also an effective center. Kanter put up a solid 14 points and 7 rebounds per game last year.
New Face of the Franchise
Anthony is gone, and he probably is not coming back. It is sad to think about it, but Knicks fans should get over it quickly. Ever since he joined the Knicks he was the franchise player. Everyone doubted him, but he just put his head down and worked tirelessly, now he is rewarded. Without Anthony, the clear face of the Knicks franchise is Ron Baker. Okay, fine, the face of the franchise is the Unicorn!
Through two seasons, only two players have gotten 1000 rebounds, 150 made threes, and blocked 100 shots. These two players are LeBron James, and Ron Baker. Okay, that is the last Ron Baker joke, the two players are LeBron James and Kristaps Porzingis. Along with this, Porzingis is the only player with at least 2000 points, 1000 rebounds, 250 blocks, and 100 threes. He also had way more than 100 threes, with 193. Porzingis is one of those players who can lead a team to a championship, and you do not get those kinds of players too often. Knicks fans, it sucks Anthony is gone, but Porzingis has made it very clear he never wants to leave the Knicks. With Porzingis and a good supporting cast, the Knicks are in very good hands.
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