Houston Rockets: Carmelo Anthony May Be The Smartest Player In The NBA
For those of you viewing Carmelo Anthony with a side of disgust, just stop it. What Anthony has done over his career, just may make him the smartest NBA player, possibly ever. It all begin in college when he did what others didn’t want to do. Instead of going straight to the league, Anthony decided to give the NCAA a shot and walked away with a one and done but not before leading Syracuse to the National Championship. With that on his resume, he headed to the Denver Nuggets as their new leader.
While his Nuggets would never reach the NBA Finals, Anthony carved out a name for himself as one of the premier scorers in the league. But while Carmelo Anthony the scorer was doing his part, the team was still struggling. When the walls came crashing in, Anthony requested a trade. While a player asking to be moved was nothing unusual, Anthony was still at the top of his game at the time and may have been one of the first superstars to put pressure on a front office.
The Nuggets found a partner in the New York Knicks on February 22, 2011, in what will go down as one of the biggest trades in NBA history. Here is how the deal went down and what players were involved.
Traded to New York (NYK) from Denver (DEN) as part of a 3-team trade: Minnesota (MIN) traded Chauncey Billups,Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman, Shelden Williams,Raymond Felton and Kosta Koufos to New York (NYK); New York (NYK) traded 2015 2nd round pick, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, 2012 2nd round pick, 2013 2nd round pick and 2014 1st round pick to Denver (DEN); New York (NYK) traded Corey Brewer,Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry to Minnesota (MIN)
With the Knicks finally get their first real star since Patrick Ewing, Madison Square Garden was set to rock and Anthony was hailed as the savior. But it all didn’t go as planned as the Knicks began to struggle. In 2014, the Knicks inked Melo to a new deal worth $124 million over 5 years. But in that deal came that dreaded No Trade Clause that the Knicks would soon regret but also one that gave Anthony power.
With the Knicks struggling, rumors began to swirl that Anthony may be moved. The only issue there was that they couldn’t unless he gave his blessings. By giving Carmelo Anthony that NTC, the Knicks hands were tied and Melo provided them a list of teams he wanted to go to. What this did was all but handicap what the Knicks could get in return.
In 2018, four years after signing his huge deal, the Knicks sent Melo packing to the Oklahoma City Thunder to play with Russell Westbrook and Paul George. On the surface, this was a great move for Carmelo. He was leaving a franchise who lost faith in him but best of all, he was able to do it on his own terms. How many players can say that about their future?
Melo’s first season in OKC did not go as planned. While the team would make the playoffs, the Big 3 fumbled away their chance to make history by losing in the first round to an inferior Utah Jazz team. With the season over, it was time for the Thunder and Anthony to face reality.
Melo came to OKC with one year left on his deal plus a player option for 2018 at the steep price of $27 million. If Melo were to opt-in, and the Thunder were to re-sign PG, that would put them way over the luxury tax. So, what did Melo do, you guess it, he opted in but it wasn’t done for the reasons many may suspect. After a down season, Carmelo knew his time was up in OKC. It’s one thing to play second-fiddle but it’s another ballpark when you know you’re the third option. However, with Melo being the businessman he is, he saw an opportunity to get exactly what he wanted just as he did when he requested a trade to the Knicks some years prior. By opting in, he put ALL the pressure on the Thunder to make a move.
Instead of standing pat and giving it another go, the Thunder did what was best for the team which also turned out to be what’s best for Carmelo Anthony. Think about this scenario here. Melo practically forced his way out of OKC and went to Atlanta which brought Melo out but did it by giving him the entire $27 million. Then what did Melo do? He pulled off one of the best moves in history by taking $2.4 million to join the Houston Rockets. Yes, Melo went from the lowly Knicks to a Big 3 in Oklahoma to being traded then getting a full year’s salary from a team he won’t play for then getting another couple million to play alongside Chris Paul and James Harden. Wow!
In this day and age where owners are doing their best to control the landscape of the NBA, there are players like Carmelo Anthony who still has faith in his personal worth. As fans, we often overlook the importance of financial security as we cheer for a team or player. What Melo has done over his career is think like a player and a businessman at the same time.
[BXReporter]
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
