NBA Trade Rumors: Carmelo Anthony To The Clippers Makes Sense
NBA Trade Rumors: Carmelo Anthony being traded to the LA Clippers makes a lot of sense for both parties
First, let me say this. I’ve been a huge fan of Carmelo Anthony since his days at the University of Syracuse. When he was drafted by Denver in 2003, it didn’t take long for him to grow into one of the league’s household names.
His scoring ability was as sweet and effortless as James Harden’s step-back jumper. His nightly 25-to-30 point per game outbursts were just as jaw-dropping as what Russell Westbrook is doing today.
Despite his offensive prowess, though, Anthony often garnered criticism for his leadership, commitment on defense and ball-hogging tendencies – still, much hasn’t changed.
However, more often than not, his Hollywood smile, charming charisma and special offensive ability made it quite difficult for NBA fans to root against him. Carmelo Anthony is a LOCK for the Hall Of Fame, even with his flaws.
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Perhaps his biggest, though, was his lack of success in the postseason. Thirteen years into his career, Anthony has the same number of rings that I have Lamborghinis parked in my garage.
After his forceful trade to New York in 2010, Anthony has one playoff series win in seven seasons. He has about the same chance to win a ring with the Knicks at some point in the near future, as the Nets do this season.
It’s 2017, and they’re the same old Knicks. New York sits 11th in the Eastern Conference, at 20-27 and will likely miss the playoffs for a fifth-straight season.
The Knicks rank 15th in the NBA in Offensive Rating (105.1) and 24th in Defensive Rating (108.1). Hey, at least the Knicks play in the world’s most famous arena, right? And are led by the genius Phil Jackson, right?
Joking aside, ESPN reporter Ian Begley said it best. “Some people who think at this point it’s probably best to move on from Anthony and build around Kristaps Porzingis”
From the start, Anthony’s relationship with the Knicks, specifically Phil Jackson, seemed rocky. Now (it appears) it’s damaged beyond repair because of miscommunication and trust. However, because of Anthony’s No-Trade Clause, it could make things difficult. It’s been rumored that he would only accept a trade to Cleveland, Boston or the LA Clippers.
From what we know now, Boston and Cleveland are reportedly not interested in Anthony. That leaves the Clippers. Anthony would give LA that small forward that they’ve been missing for years. Acquiring one of the best scorers in modern-day era isn’t a bad bonus, either.
If that doesn’t excite Clippers management, here’s a little kicker: New York seems so desperate in moving Anthony, they’re satisfied on trading him without receiving one of the Clippers’ Big 3 (Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan or Blake Griffin).
LA is already a pretty good offensive team, which ranks fifth in the NBA. Adding a player like Anthony would simply be unfair. Keep in mind, Anthony has never played with a true, pass-first point guard like Chris Paul. He’s going to make the game a lot easier for Anthony, as he’s done with Griffin and Jordan.
Even though his 44 percent shooting speaks of his isolation tendencies, Anthony would give LA another perimeter scorer option (IF) he’s willing to adapt. It’s a much different situation, but you see how Kevin Durant is benefiting from much more efficient and easier shots in Golden State, some of that could be translated to Anthony with the Clippers.
On defense, the Clippers are best when healthy. Yet, because of injuries, LA has slipped to the 6th best defense in the NBA. That’s still pretty good, however, at one point they sported the top-ranked defense in the league.
Even just playing for a contender like the Clippers could translate to Anthony giving more effort on the defensive end – and that’s half the battle.
Despite all the positive this trade could bring to LA, if this deal would go down, it would bring huge issues to the Clippers depth. LA would likely lose J.J. Redick’s spacing and ability to shoot off screens, which helps keeps the defense honest.
As great of a scorer that Anthony is, he doesn’t have that ability. Anthony gets most of his scoring output from isolation, posting up and spotting up.
Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford and Wesley Johnson would likely also have to be part of the deal, in order to match up contracts with Anthony’s huge number. That would essentially gut the Clippers’ bench.
This deal has high risk, high reward written all over it.
Let’s also not forget that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are free agents after the season, but adding a player like Anthony could pretty much lock those two to re-sign. For Anthony, this is a win-win. We all know that Anthony loves New York, because it’s a big market.
But Carmelo Anthony telling La La, “pack your bags, we’re moving to Los Angeles” isn’t bad either considering LA is another big market and, most importantly, gives him his best shot at a championship.
