If it feels like the Carmelo Anthony era in New York dragged on far past its expiration date, it’s because it probably did. Carmelo Anthony didn’t want to be there anymore. Phil Jackson was a disaster. James Dolan was James Dolan. It was all extremely New York Knicks.
Anthony is in Oklahoma City now, joining forces with Russell Westbrook and Paul George to create the Western Conference’s latest Super Team. For the first time in a long time, Melo looks happy, and after how he dominated the NBA workout news cycle this summer with legendary pickup performances, and the birth of Hoodie Melo, how could he not be? He feels relevant again in a way he hadn’t been for far too long.
The NBA is more fun when Melo matters. This season in OKC, he matters.
A fascinating sub-plot to the upcoming 2017-18 NBA season is just how close Anthony was to joining James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston instead. Several Rockets players, and even head coach Mike D’Antoni opened up about the summer of Melo to Frank Isola for the New York Daily News.
“There was a lot of speculation throughout the entire summer and it was kind of getting annoying,” James Harden told Isola, “but I’m happy that everyone is settled in. Melo is in OKC and seems to be happy. Ryan (Anderson) is comfortable. So everyone is in a good place.”
Quick side note that nobody thinks about; bless Ryan Anderson for putting up with all this. He’s had a rough several years in his personal life, and it feels like he’s been smack-dab in the middle of trade negotiations from the moment he signed with Houston. What a pro.
Chris Paul is predictably happy for his friend.
“I sorta felt like he would be traded,” Paul said. “I actually hoped he would to give him peace of mind so he could be happy. And I think he’s happy now.”
Paul would later add that he doesn’t quite understand how their pickup games created so much rumor and speculation. It’s not a new occurrence, but the promotion on social media all summer probably has something to do it with.
Mike D’Antoni’s comments on potentially coaching Carmelo again are particularly fascinating because the biggest reason why he resigned from the Knicks was due to an intense feud with Melo. Despite the bad blood, D’Antoni didn’t seem too bothered by having to coach Melo again, if it came down to that.
“It’s a whole different situation,” D’Antoni said. “And we know that James and Chris are big friends (with Carmelo). And after New York we went to the (London) Olympics and won a gold medal so it’s different.”
This is one of those rare NBA occurrences where the curtain was pulled back and we were able to see just how close a deal was before falling apart. Is Melo better off in Oklahoma City than he would have been in Houston? It’s impossible to say, but here’s to the NBA gods giving us a playoff matchup between the two so we can see if Anthony was the difference maker.
