The Nuggets were 32-25 overall. 7 games above .500.
The Knicks were 28-26 overall. 2 games above .500.

Fast forward 21 months later during New York's first full season with Melo and/or Denver's first full season without Melo...

The Knicks are currently 15-5 overall. 10 games above .500. 1st seed of the East.
The Nuggets are currently 10-11 overall. 1 game below .500. 9th seed of the West.

Need I say more in regards to which franchise came out on top during this trade or should we dig a little deeper?

Let's take a look at player personnel (dating back to the trade when compared to as of right now). Where are they now?

The Knicks pretty much moved Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov (to Denver) along with both Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry (to Minnesota) in exchange for Carmelo Anthony himself. What a steal when taking an in depth analysis into the trade.

Maybe some of these naysaying negative critics and/or trade experts can explain to us all, in full detail, how and/or what the Knicks "lost" during our trade for Melo? Because let's be honest here, that's all we heard after the trade; Which was 'how much the Knicks lost'. Let's take a closer look, no?

* Did we "lose" Eddy Curry? Where's Curry as of right now? My guess is that Curry is a free agent after being released by San Antonio. Did we still "lose" Eddy Curry?

* What about AR15? Did we also "lose" Anthony Randolph? What has Anthony Randolph as a Denver Nugget done here in 2012-2013? Try an average of only 6.3 minutes, 1.0 points, 1.0 boards, 0.8 assists, 0.3 blocks and 0.8 turnovers per game. AR ranks dead last on Denver's team in regards to minutes per game. 13th man off their bench. Did we still "lose" Anthony Randolph? The experts said we did.

* Lets talk Timofey Mozgov. At the time of the trade we (actually) had Knick fans against the Melo trade, all because a rookie project Center from Russia in Mozgov was included as a 'throw in'. Here in 2012-2013 Mozgov has only averaged 13.6 minutes per game as Denver's 3rd string Center behind both Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee. Only averaging 3.5 points, 4.5 boards and 0.6 blocks per game. Did we still "lose" a career backup/3rd stringer in Timofey Mozgov? Those negative critics said we did.

(Still trying to figure out exactly what "we lost" during the trade for an elite talent in Melo who's now became our franchise leader as the center piece of a currently 1st seed Knicks team). Because it wasn't Curry, Mozgov or Randolph.

* Did we also "lose" Wilson Chandler? Because the last time I checked Wilson Chandler is now 25 years of age, only played 8 games last season and has only recorded 70 minutes of playing time here in 2012-2013. Wilson Chandler has only played in 4 games due to injury. During these 4 games he's only averaged 6.5 points and 5.0 boards off 10/32 shooting (.313%). Did we still "lose" Wilson Chandler?

* Did we also "lose" Raymond Felton? He's actually returned to the Knicks while currently averaging 16.5 points and 6.8 assists per game. Only committing 2.3 turnovers per game.

To each his/her own, but if you believe that we lost Raymond Felton, I'd mention the fact that Felton has returned to our Knicks only 21 months later. If you believe that we lost Wilson Chandler, I'll rebuttal with J.R Smith who's (thus far) performed as a contender for the NBA's 6th Man of the Year award. If you truthfully believe that we lost out on Mozgov, I'll bring up the fact that we landed a championship winning Center in Tyson Chandler, a true defensive force, an impact Center along with being our reigning Defensive Player of the Year (landing Tyson Chandler only 10 months after the Melo trade). What has Mozgov since done? 13.6 minutes, 3.5 points, 4.5 boards and 0.6 blocks per game would be the correct answer. Now, if you (still) believe we lost out on the likes of Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry, I'll simply mention tough veterans such as Kurt Thomas and Rasheed Wallace and/or Marcus Camby when healthy.

This only leaves Danilo Gallinari as a player that we could've "lost" during our trade for Melo, but when in all actual reality we've gained an enormous amount of talent, potential and overall franchise hope in Carmelo Anthony. We replaced an overrated (soft) European player in Gallo with one of (if not) the greatest pure scorer this Knicks franchise has ever seen in Melo. Not even Ewing could score at Melo's rate. We landed a true franchise player. One of the best basketball players in the world (see the Olympics). A player in which we could begin to build our franchise around (as we have) in hopes for a championship title. Melo's the type of talent/star that every championship winning team must feature. A go-to-man. Take tonight's victory over Denver for example. With the game on the line, Melo stood out as an impact player and physically abused/destroyed Gallo during the 4th quarter. Melo went 5/6 for 11 points, 2 boards and 1 assist during the 4th quarter. Melo won this game during the clutch; which was the 4th quarter. The Knicks had (and have) our go-to-star during the closing moments. Denver's still looking for theirs... Because it's not Gallo.

We pretty much replaced Gallo with Melo. Melo's currently in the running for the leagues MVP here in 2012-2013. If only Gallo could ever say the same...

Melo: 26.4 points, 6.7 boards, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals & 0.9 blocks per game. .457 FG% (.435 3PT%.
Gallo: 15.2 points, 6.1 boards, 2.8 assists, 0.6 steals & 0.6 blocks per game. .375 FG%. (.286 3PT%).

So once again... What have the Knicks "lost" during our trade for Carmelo Anthony? Melo's became our franchise leader. The center piece of a currently 15-5 Knicks team. Melo's by far the greatest player on a team that holds the number one seed here in the Eastern Conference.

Raymond Felton has returned to New York.
J.R Smith has replaced Wilson Chandler.
Tyson Chandler has replaced Timofey Mozgov.
Rasheed Wallace has replaced Anthony Randolph.
Kurt Thomas has replaced Eddy Curry.
Carmelo Anthony has replaced Danilo Gallinari.

So, once again, what exactly have we "lost" during our trade for our franchise player in Carmelo Anthony? If you mention our 2014 first round draft pick, I'll just mention the likes of Jason Kidd, Steve Novak, Ronnie Brewer and/or Iman Shumpert.

Once again, at the time of the trade...

The Nuggets were 32-25 overall. 7 games above .500.
The Knicks were 28-26 overall. 2 games above .500.

21 months later during New York's first full season with Melo and/or Denver's first full season without Melo...

The Knicks are currently 15-5 overall. 10 games above .500. 1st seed of the East.
The Nuggets are currently 10-11 overall. 1 game below .500. 9th seed of the West.

Seems like two franchises in which are moving in different directions...

We lost the king of da future

AnubisADL wrote:

The "Haters"

They dont want to see this thread tonight.

Nice GIF but Yea, I could've kept it short and sweet (and to the point) but instead wanted to use some insight, statistics and thought process when revisiting our trade for Melo 21 months later.

blkexec wrote:Regardless of your stats (which is great insight)....Negative Knick fans will be up all night trying to find something to hate on, with the Melo trade.

Which is why I created this thread. Would enjoy for any one of our resident Melo critics to try harping and/or tackling my original post. They'd fail miserably only because the truth doesn't lie. The Nuggets without Melo have became a shell of what they once were before the losing of Melo. A current losing record of only 10-11 overall. 9th seed out of the West. 1 game below .500. Our Knicks on the other hand have became a much stronger team since building our franchise around Melo. 15-5 overall doesn't lie. We're the 1st seed of the Eastern Conference. Currently 10 games above .500. None of this was possible without Carmelo Anthony.

This is what makes Melo a true franchise player. He's given our front office the ability to continue building our fracnhise around a very special talent moving forward. Just look at our current roster today when compared to our roster before the trade, because outside of Amar'e Stoudemire (who's been hurt) we've built our entire team around Melo. Not only that, but we've built a championship contender around Melo. That's what a franchise player is all about; someone to build our franchise around (as we've done with Melo).

This isn't anything new in regards to Melo either, because Melo himself changed Denver's culture coming out of Syracuse. Melo instantly became their franchise player dating back to day one of the 2003-2004 NBA draft. Melo carried Denver's franchise on his back for many of years, despite the fact that clueless critics mention the fact that Melo's led Denver teams struggled against Western Conference teams come postseason play.

Some quick questions. How many rings do Westbrook and Durant have as an elite duo? What about Chris Paul and Deron Williams as elite PG's? How many rings have Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard combined for as top tier talents? Kevin Love has been in the league for 5 years now, but how many playoff apperances has he led his franchise to? How many years did it take for Dirk Nowitzki to finally win a ring? When exactly did LeBron James win his first championship alongside both Wade and Bosh? LeBron is considered to be the greatest basketball player in the entire world, and how many years did it take for LeBron to win his first ring? And also, did he need help from the likes of Wade and Bosh?

I only bring this up, because some act as if Melo (as a player) is a complete failure and/or not a top tier NBA talent due to the fact that Denver never had a complete team in which could eliminate the likes of dynasty teams such as the Lakers and Spurs. Melo aside and out of the picture, how many rings have Kobe's Lakers and Duncan's Spurs combined for? These teams were already dynasty teams years before Melo ever entered the NBA draft, no? Because Kobe had two rings before Melo joined the league and Duncan also had two rings before Melo joined the league. But yet, Melo's called out as a "postseason failure" due to the Nuggets losing to the likes of LAL/SAS during 3 first round exits. Nice to know.

These same critics also ignore and/or refuse to acknowledge that Melo spent 7 full seasons in Denver, led them to the playoffs each and every year, took Denver from 17-63 the year before the drafting of Melo to 43-39 during Melo's rookie season (8th seed). Melo also led his Denver franchise to the Western Conference Finals and lost to the Lakers during the golden years of the Western Conference. Melo led his teams to seeds as high as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seeds.

4 of Melo's 7 playoff eliminations with Denver came against the Lakers (x2) and Spurs (x2). Critics of Melo seem to forget that A.) Denver failed to make the postseason during 9 consecutive seasons/years before the drafting of Carmelo Anthony and B.) Have made the playoffs during 9 consecutive seasons since the drafting of Melo. That's no coincidence either.

Melo's a true franchise leader. A top tier elite NBA talent too. Now, during Denver's first (full) season without Melo as their franchise leader, Denver is currently a 9th seed out of the Western Conference and could be on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since the drafting of Melo.

The Knicks on the other hand? 15-5. 1st seed of the Eastern Conference. If the season were to end today, Melo takes home the MVP award as well. The greatest player on the best team in the East. 3rd in the league in scoring. Franchise player. Team leader.

Bonn1997 wrote:The W-L differential has much more to do with the quality of their teammates. I know you'll say your naked eye is right and the advanced stats are wrong but check out the win shares per 48 min (WS/48): http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/2013.html
You can check out the wins produced too but it's ugly for Melo (especially if you click on his name and switch his position from SF to PF): http://www.thenbageek.com/teams/nyk

I thought we are just suppose to blame the player regardless of the quality of teammates?

mrKnickShot wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:The W-L differential has much more to do with the quality of their teammates. I know you'll say your naked eye is right and the advanced stats are wrong but check out the win shares per 48 min (WS/48): http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/2013.html
You can check out the wins produced too but it's ugly for Melo (especially if you click on his name and switch his position from SF to PF): http://www.thenbageek.com/teams/nyk

I thought we are just suppose to blame the player regardless of the quality of teammates?

FeltonandAmare wrote:Anyone who questions this is delusional. The Nuggies are becoming who I thought they would be and the Knicks are finally
putting it together for a Championship run which the Nuggies will NEVER accomplish.

JrZyHuStLa wrote:There's no need for a one trick pony like Gallinari when you have an even better one trick pony in Novak.

Gallo is not a one trick pony. He probably is more of a slasher now than a spot up shooter / three chucker.