Carmelo Anthony finally has a new team, and it seems like he’s pretty thrilled to be off the New York Knicks. Leaving New York is reason enough to be excited for Melo, but he does walk into a pretty interesting situation in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder were certainly not Melo’s first pick for a new team, though. He was heavily invested in finding a way to get to Houston, while the Cavaliers were also a target for the forward. Melo himself said a trade to Houston fell through at the last minute, and there was talk of both he and Paul George landing in Cleveland around draft day.
But both of those trades fell through, and now both he and George will play in Oklahoma City. Now wearing his hoodie in Oklahoma, Anthony was asked why he decided the Thunder could be an option for him and he answered frankly about the reasons why he choose his teams in the past.
“It was more about looking at opportunities for me to win at this point,” Anthony said. “I’ve stated with teams and stayed in situations for contractual reasons and money and not wanting to leave money on the table. But also believing in and wanting to believe in New York and the organization and the players: my teammates.”
Anthony said at this point in his career, he needs to focus on being happy and trying to win a title.
“But then it came to a point where I was like ‘Now I really gotta get serious about my career.’ I’m not getting younger. The only thing I’m missing is winning. It kind of just getting that joy back. Getting that feel back. And kind of feeling refreshed and I feel like that now.”
Jalen Rose says they could get the whole banana boat crew together on one team next year, but right now it seems that Carmelo thinks he can win with the Thunder. We’ll see if that’s still the case once the games begin, but Melo seems happy with his choice right now.
