Knicks Finally Make the Trade for 'Melo They Never Should Have Made

After months of Carmelo Anthony discussion, the Knicks have finally acquired the superstar from the Denver Nuggets in a blockbuster deal as surprising as Big Momma's House 3 being panned by critics. After the Nets recently jumped back into the fray, the Knicks upped their offer for 'Melo to include Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, Anthony Randolph, a Knicks first round pick and the rotting corpse of Eddy Curry. The Knicks will reportedly get back Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, and either Anthony Carter, Corey Brewer or both--with the Minnesota Timberwolves being involved in the deal as well.

After months of back and forth, 'Melo is finally a Knick (CBC)

It's a deal that has been in the works since the Knicks lost out of LeBron James this past summer and it's one that gives the Knicks that second superstar they have been looking for since they started stripping the roster two seasons ago. But the price it comes at is not one the Knicks should have ever trade and despite how good Carmelo Anthony may be under the bright lights of New York, this is a trade they should have never made.

Will Leitch of NY Mag had a great article this morning about how scarily out of control this New York Knicks trade has become. And although I think it's even scarier reading Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski talk about how much influence Isiah Thomas has on the Knicks, this Carmelo Anthony trade is all about James Dolan. This was worse than the late George Steinbrenner at his most tyrannical; a twister of wreckage trying as hard as he can to ruin the Knicks franchise and to drive all of his remaining fans to pull out any hair that still remains.

I'll agree with everyone who says that this is not--on paper--a horrible deal. Wilson Chandler was gone after this year; Raymond Felton was always meant to be a rental; Danilo Gallinari didn't have a starting job once Melo arrived; Eddy Curry and Anthony Randolph were bench players; Timofey Mozgov was probably not the center the Knicks needed; and who knows what the current value of a 2014 draft pick is going to be? But the problem is that the Knicks didn't need to include all these guys in the deal.

The Nets played the Knicks here. The Knicks and Nets don't currently fight for any free agents (except maybe Kim Kardashian) but once the Nets move from Newark to Brookyln, they'll both be running after the same players. Anything the Nets can do to ruin the Knicks obvious advantages of MSG and the fanbase by hurting their wallets and their player base. The Russian knew what he was doing all along here and once again he is smiling at the Knicks' expense. His team won't be any good but he'll have the flexibility to go out and make moves to make sure they have the right assets in place once the free agents arrive. The Nets flirted like crazy with the Nuggets to make James Dolan crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if the Nuggets and Nets conspired knowing that Carmelo would never go to the Nets to up the Knicks deal.

And that's the worst part of this whole thing: everyone knew that Anthony was only going to sign an extension with the Knicks. Donnie Walsh knew that, the Nuggets and Nets knew that, and anyone who has been watching these negotiations unfold knew that. The Knicks would have been best off doing what the Yankees did with CC Sabathia and just waited until the off-season to sign him. If he would have found somewhere else to go like Cliff Lee, so be it; you do the smart thing--keep your financial flexibility, your young assets, and some draft flexibility. Now they have very room for error if they're going to add Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Dwight Howard in 2012. And the supporting cast is going to be very rough at best.

I don't hate this deal but I certainly don't like this deal either. The playoff-bound Knicks had two other spots to clear up on their team--backup center and another point guard--that they could have used their assets to acquire. Instead, they have to hope they gel quicker as a team than the Miami Heat did at the beginning of the season and can acquire the chemistry to take a run at the Eastern Conference. They also have to hope that this trade didn't undo all the good Donnie Walsh has done for the Knicks and set them back another five years. Because for as much excitement there will be in the upcoming weeks at Madison Square Garden, it will quickly fade if this trade doesn't make the Knicks a winner.