Even after the Knicks brought in Derrick Rose this offseason to form a sort of makeshift Big 3, his future in New York has never been set in stone. Rose has a year left on his contract, so depending on how things pan out, New York’s point guard situation is as nebulous as ever. After Kevin Durant shocked the world and signed with the Warriors in July, there were a lot of whispers that Russell Westbrook would either get traded or opt to leave when he entered free agency next summer.
That situation apparently gave Carmelo Anthony a glimmer of hope that the young dynamo might end up in the Big Apple. Instead, Westbrook signed a contract extension to remain with the Thunder for the next three years. Though disappointed, Anthony recently told Marc Berman of the New York Post that he understands why Westbrook choose to say in Oklahoma City:
“Yeah, to be honest with you, that soon [I was surprised],’’ Anthony said. “But that’s Russ. Russ don’t give a damn about nothing. It’s all about what he want to do, when he want to do it, how he want to do it. I think he wanted to show he was loyal to OKC.”
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“I can tell that he was waiting for a moment like this where he could go shine,’’ Anthony said. “He wanted to be the leader of that team, regardless of if KD came back or not. He wanted that moment. You could just tell that his vibe was different, his energy was different. You could tell when people want those moments.”
Both teams are still working out the kinks here in the early part of the season, but as Anthony watches Westbrook wrack up absolutely mind-boggling stat lines every night, it’ll likely keep him wondering what might have been.
