The New York Knicks has reportedly traded Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder after receiving Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 2nd round draft pick from Chicago. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the deal is already complete and the trade call will be on Monday.
Deal is complete, trade call Monday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 23, 2017
He also said via Twitter that Russell Westbrook and Paul George played a crucial role in convincing Carmelo Anthony to join the franchise.
Russell Westbrook and Paul George played an immense part in getting Anthony to waive no-trade for OKC, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 23, 2017
The Oklahoma City Thunder will now have three superstars on their roster in the name of Westbrook, George, and now Anthony. The Thunder will, however, take on an additional $12.4 million luxury tax and its tax bill is now set for $27.8 million. Carmelo Anthony is a natural scorer and it is expected that his points will be lower since he would be playing alongside Russell Westbrook who carried the whole load for the Oklahoma City-based squad after averaging 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists last season. Newly-traded Paul George will also have a share in the scoring department after averaging 23.7 points last season for the Indiana Pacers.
OKC will now have to cope up without Enes Kanter who averaged 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds and Doug McDermott who averaged 6.6 points and 2.2 rebounds. The New York Knicks, on the other hand, will now begin their rebuilding process after losing Carmelo Anthony who averaged 22.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. The New York-based team is envisioning on rebuilding the franchise with its set of young players which is led by Kristaps Porzingis. Other players that are expected to help include Ron Baker, Guillermo Hernangomez, and Tim Hardaway Jr.
Ten-time NBA All-star Carmelo Anthony had been expressing his urgency with regard to his trade situation after expanding the list of teams which he would eagerly waive his no-trade clause this week. According to ESPN, Carmelo also added the Cleveland Cavaliers , in addition to the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, as his top picks for the incoming NBA season just to get out of New York.
It is expected that Carmelo Anthony will be joining the Oklahoma City Thunder for the start of training camp on Tuesday. The trade will be official on Monday.
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