National Basketball Association

'Melo ready to accept 'challenges'

Published Feb. 23, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Carmelo Anthony was en route to the airport, headed for that unwanted return to Denver, when the call he waited for all season finally came.

The one that makes him a brighter star, and maybe the Knicks a bigger threat come playoff time.

''I think New York needed a moment like this,'' Anthony said.

So did Anthony.

After waiting since September while the Nuggets worked to send him to the only destination he wanted, Anthony finally arrived as a Knick on Wednesday, telling a packed news conference that he is the right kind of person to deal with New York.

''Is it going to be an easy transition for me? No. Is it going to be a lot of challenges? Yes. Is there going to be a lot of expectations? Yes,'' he said. ''But I'm willing to accept all of them challenges.''

The Knicks are betting on it, trading away four of their top players as part of a three-team, 13-player blockbuster that was completed Tuesday. All the players completed their physicals Wednesday, making Anthony eligible for his debut against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Now wearing No. 7, Anthony took part in the Knicks' short workout and was in the starting lineup along with fellow newcomer Chauncey Billups.

''I felt like I was still coming in just for a shootaround on an opposing team,'' Anthony said. ''It didn't really sink in yet - the fact that I'm a New York Knick. I feel like I'm still dreaming right now.''

Anthony, who signed a three-year, $65 million extension before the deal was completed, will join fellow All-Star Amare Stoudemire in the frontcourt, giving the Knicks the potent duo they hoped they could assemble last summer in free agency.

Referring to the high price the Knicks paid, Anthony said, ''I'm pretty sure if any of you guys were GMs or owners, you would want me and Amare on the same team as well. I don't know who would turn that down.''

Anthony decided last summer he wanted out of Denver, the team that drafted him third overall in 2003. He wanted the deal to New York, in part for the opportunities it will present he and his actress wife, La La Vazquez, who was among the crowd that filled the lobby of the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

But Anthony made it clear his focus is on the basketball court.

''Will we win a championship this year? Who knows?'' said Anthony, who spoke for about 10 minutes. ''That takes time. But at the end of the day, we're moving into the right direction. I felt like I wanted to be part of an organization, part of a team who had some upside and knew what the future was holding.''

Anthony was about to fly to Denver for practice Monday when he got a call not to go anywhere quite yet. Finally, word came that he was getting his wish to join New York after months of uncertainty and trade rumors that peaked during the All-Star break, which he called a ''zoo.''

Not everything was cleared up even after the deal was done. MSG chairman James Dolan felt the need at the start of Wednesday's news conference to again deny reports he had removed team president Donnie Walsh from negotiations while being advised by Isiah Thomas.

''While Isiah Thomas is a friend of mine, a very good friend of mine, he was not at all involved in this process,'' Dolan said. ''He wasn't advising me or telling me what to do in any way, and any reports that implied he was doing that are simply untrue and a fiction in somebody's mind.''

The Knicks also got guard Anthony Carter and forwards Renaldo Balkman and Shelden Williams from Denver. New York dealt forwards Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, guard Raymond Felton and center Timofey Mozgov to the Nuggets.

New York also shipped centers Eddy Curry and Anthony Randolph to Minnesota for forward Corey Brewer. Denver acquired center Kosta Koufos from Minnesota, plus New York's first-round draft pick in 2014, second-round picks in 2012 and 2013, and cash.

The Knicks haven't made the playoffs since 2004. They are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference in their first season since acquiring Stoudemire from Phoenix last summer.

Stoudemire has said the blockbuster deal could make them better equipped to face teams like Boston and Miami, which already have multiple All-Stars, in the postseason.

''I know we got to jell. We got to get our chemistry down,'' Anthony said. ''At the same time, we've got to roll. We got things to go out there and accomplish. We got goals to reach, and it starts now.''