Winners and Losers of the Carmelo to OKC Trade

Tyler Kemp



Just when it looked like a normal day in the NBA offseason right before training camp begins to roll around, what looks to be the final shockwave in what has been a wild NBA summer has already had its ripple effect. The New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed in principle to a trade that would send Carmelo Anthony to OKC while New York receives Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a future second round pick. While this immediately looks like a win for Carmelo Anthony, there are a lot of different moving pieces in terms of who won and lost this trade. Let's get it started:

Winner: Carmelo Anthony
This is pretty obvious, right? The 13 year veteran finally got his trade request granted and escaped a tumultuous situation that was the New York Knicks, who are constantly the resident laughingstock of the NBA. He will now be paired up with Russell Westbrook and Paul George, two guys that he is very familiar playing with during summers of the olympics (as well as Instagram videos with the infamous Hoodie Melo). This likely will be Carmelo's last run at a ring as he has two years left on his colossal 5 year/$125 million contract. It will be interesting to see how the season shapes up because Westbrook and George are both on the last year of their deals and have yet to sign extensions.

Loser: Steve Mills
Forced into a bad situation due to the Phil Jackson reign in New York, Steve Mills has been forced into the spotlight as the head honcho of Knicks' front office. He constantly has directed towards a youth movement, but there hasn't been much positive movement. While this is a positive step in terms of a rebuild, there is still work to be done. There is still the cloud of the walloping contracts of Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee, and now the unnecessarily large contract given to Tim Hardaway Jr. hanging over New York. Mills has his work cut out for him, but the process towards a revamped Knicks team is underway. It is still sad Mills could not get a first round pick in the deal, though.

Winner: Journalists
Anyone who writes as a sports journalist probably got the most work that they have ever gotten in their writing careers with the constant updates of this NBA offseason. Whether it was the trades of CP3 to Houston, PG13 to OKC, and now Melo joining him. Let's not forget about how the first pick in the 2011 draft was traded for the last pick in the 2011 draft (Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas). On top of the trades, money has been thrown around like a football at the family Turkey Bowl game on Thanksgiving. Harden received a 4 year/$228 million dollar extension and Steph received the first supermax contract of 5 years/$200 million. There were also a lot of draft headlines mainly dominated by Fultz and Ball, but this offseason has been one of the best to follow since the 2010 Summer (LeBron to Miami).

Loser: Kristaps Porzingis
The one that they call the Unicorn will now be thrusted into the role of the face of the franchise a bit earlier than many expected. The 22 year old is coming off of a season where he averaged 18.1 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 45% from the field. He was a very good number two option for a Knicks that was very mediocre at best and mustered 31 wins. It will now be his team and all the people that have been calling for Porzingod to be the man in the Big Apple finally got their request. He will get help from the likes of Hardaway Jr. running the wing and the most average point guard in the NBA, Ramon Sessions running the offense. Hopefully, First round pick Frank Ntilikina will get some time early on in the season to progress his development.

Loser: Carmelo's Knicks Legacy
Arguably the greatest Knick talent since Ewing, Carmelo Anthony's Knicks tenure has been tainted with injuries and bad teams. There were flashes of brilliance such as when back in the 2012-13 season, he averaged 28.7 points per game and led New York to a 54 win season and a second round appearance. Ever since, it has been downhill. Injuries, head scratching trades, and Phil Jackson were all influences to a bitter end to Carmelo's New York career. It is sad to see one of the most prolific scorers of the 21st century was not able to have more team success in his hometown, but he is on to greener pastures on a team that could contend and possibly give the Warriors a run for their money. If Melo wears a hoodie during games, it means trouble for the league. I can't wait for the season opener when the Knicks play... you guessed it: the Thunder on opening night on October 19th in OKC. It should be a fun season.

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