Carmelo Anthony’s trade to the Thunder last month came as a shocking development, considering Oklahoma City had never been rumored to be on Anthony’s shortlist of destinations for which he’d waive his no-trade clause. Until the first report came out that a deal had been agreed upon, Anthony’s list had Houston (the preferred team from the start) and had expanded to include Cleveland and possibly Portland.
It wasn’t the first time the Thunder had swooped in to make a blockbuster deal this summer, having already done so with Paul George and Indiana. However, George did not have a no-trade clause and while he seems happy in OKC, there weren’t many that anticipated Anthony would want to head to America’s heartland.
By all accounts, Anthony wanted to stay relatively close to New York, be in a major city, or, at the least, play with his friends. So, when he accepted a deal to the Thunder, it came as a surprise to some, although playing with George and Russell Westbrook is certainly appealing to anyone.
As for how the Thunder became an option in Melo’s mind, the star forward told The New York Times‘ Marc Stein it all started with his 10-year-old son, Kiyan.
“My son said he wanted me to play for O.K.C.,” Anthony said. “Even before O.K.C. was in the picture.’’
There are obvious on-court reasons for Anthony to want to be with the Thunder, but there’s so much more to a player’s decision on where to go when they have that power beyond basketball. Throughout Anthony’s trade saga, the one constant was that he wanted to be around his family. So, it should come as no surprise that a push from his son was able to make him consider the Thunder. If his son was willing to join him in a new city, that was enough reason for him to at least be open to the possibility.
