Let's Hear it for New York!!!!

The deed is finally done and the Knicks have pulled the blockbuster to get the slightly disgruntled Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets.  The Minnesota Timberwolves were pulled into the deal at the last moment to facilitate. Here are the particulars:

New York Knicks
Get: Carmelo Anthony, Renaldo Balkman, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Corey Brewer

Denver Nuggets
Get: Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, the Knicks 1st round pick (2014), the Warriors 2nd round pick (2012 and 2013), and $3M in cash.


Minnesota Timberwolves
Get: Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry

My take on the Knicks:  On the surface, this was a lot to give up.  I'm with Charles Barkley on this one, Melo ain't Jordan, why would you give that many players up?  We know that the Knicks HAD to do this deal to get Melo because if it would have gone down that the Knicks lost out on this because they didn't want to part with Mozgov (a piece the Nuggets wanted) they would have revolted in the streets.They finally got their guy, but it also seems as though they'll lose Walsh and gain Zeke (once again).  I'm not sure that everyone should be excited about that end of the deal.  Billups and Anthony make this team a little dangerous right now.  They are going to have to gel, but until the wheels fall off or they're able to convince a PG to come to New York, the Knicks will be alright.  

My take on the Nuggets:  Well, I have to admit that the Nets deal was a better deal, but with the uncertainty that Melo would have signed an extension with the Nets, they had to do this.  Chandler is a restricted free agent and may end up being a fall back if the Nuggets chose not to re-sign the mercurial J.R. Smith.  Raymond Felton makes George Karl a collector of former UNC point guards, and Felton can be 'the guy'.  He's a bigger version of Ty Lawson.  Gallinari can step in and provide some scoring, but I'm not sure how much of a 'player' he'll ever be.  I actually like Mozgov and when given time in D'Antoni's system he's actually played well.  You can't teach height.

My take on the Timberwolves:  They were the facilitator and got a good talent in Anthony Randolph and they got Eddy Curry's expiring contract.  Randolph has not yet been put in a position to succeed in the NBA, but maybe the Timberwolves can find a way.  Plus the cap relief for the Timberwolves will be big since they are going to have to overpay for someone to actually want to come there and play. 


Who got the best of this trade?  Is Carmelo worth it?  Can they win if they aren't able to get anyone else because of the new collective bargaining agreement?  Why did this thing drag out like this? 

NBA 2010 Wrap Up 11-10-10

Washington 98 @ Houston 91 – Two big stories, Yao Ming got hurt and John Wall (19 pts, 10 rebs, 13 asts, 6 stls) had his first NBA triple double.  Both Andray Blatche and Al Thornton had 20 pts, as the Wizards ran up and down the floor.  It seemed as if Wall was everywhere making steals, passes, and even finishing an alley-oop from Gilbert Arenas.  Kevin Martin (31 pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts) and Luis Scola (24 pts, 6 rebs) led the Rockets, but with Yao going down, it really hurt their size advantage.  Wall became the 4^th youngest to get his first triple double and the Washington area fans are expecting a few more of these.      

Golden State 122 @ New York Knicks 117 – David Lee returned to the Garden and received a warm reception during introductions.  Lee would later receive a piece of Wilson Chandlers tooth in his elbow, but left the Garden after dropping 28 pts, 10 rebs, and 4 asts and leading his Warrior team to a win.  In an odd play, Lee got a rebound and brought his elbow down and chipped Chandler’s front tooth.  Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry combined for 47 pts, 8 rebs, and 14 asts.  Stoudamire led the Knicks with 33 pts and 10 rebs, but the Knicks weren’t able to keep up with the Warriors at the end.  The Knicks only got 11 points from their bench (Tone Douglas had 9 pts), and as usual D’Antoni has no chance to stop anyone on the defensive end.    

Minnesota 98 @ Sacramento 89 – We had a Micheal Beasley sighting.  Beasley had by far his best game as an NBA player with a 42 pts and 9 rebs outing against the Kings.  With really no other scoring threat on the floor the Timberwolves were able to get this win with the second leading scorer on the team being PG, Sebastian Telfair who had 16 pts and 1 ast.  If you can play point guard you might want to call the Timberwolves right now!!!!  The Kings had subpar games from Tyreke Evans (5 pts, 9 asts, 5 to) and DeMarcus Cousins (7 pts, 6 rebs, 4 to in 14 minutes).  Omri Casspi led the Kings with 17 pts (in 27 minutes) and I just have to question why no extra time for Casspi and Cousins wince they seemed to be playing well? 

Utah 104 @ Orlando 94 – Maybe they can move the Jazz to the East?  The Jazz finished their stroll through the sunshine state with a comeback from 22 to beat the Heat and then a comeback win from 18 last night, to beat the Magic.  Somehow the Jazz were able to turn it on once they get down.  They were led by Deron Williams with 30 pts, 14 asts, and 5 rebs.  Both Al Jefferson (21 pts, 8 rebs) and Paul Milsap (23 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts) dominated the Magic frontcourt to spark the comeback.  As a group they were able to minimize Dwight Howard’s (14 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts, 3 blks, 6 to) effectiveness and force the Magic to take 32 threes while only hitting 12.  The next team that plays the Jazz might just want to let them stay in the game late and then try and beat them. 

Timberwolves and Kings

Seems like the Timberwolves have made a deal to fortify their front court after losing Al Jefferson for the season. The Timberwolves have sent Rashad McCants and Calvin Booth to the Kings for Shelden Williams and Bobby Brown. It looks like the Kings have decided to go run and gun based on their additions from their trade with the Bulls earlier. McCants is a scorer who hasn't really shown much since leaving UNC. Shelden Williams or as we'll refer to him, Candace Parker's husband, hasn't done anything since leaving Duke except figuring out a way to get Candace to marry him. This will be an opportunity to prove to people that he isn't a bust after being drafted in the top ten by the Hawks a few years ago (2006 Draft). Calvin Booth is still in the league because of height and Bobby Brown will be out of the league soon.