Done Deal! Carmelo is a Knick

The Knicks have taken another step toward being relavent again, and have put themselves in position to compete for a title year in and year out. The question now becomes, do the Knicks have enough left on their roster to have the depth necessary to make a run this year?





Knicks Projected Starting Lineup:

C:   Ronny Turiaf
PF: Amare Stoudemire
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Landry Fields
PG: Chauncey Billups

Key Bench Players: Corey Brewer, Shelden Williams. Toney Douglas


All in all, the Knicks gave up Raymond Felton, Danillo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, two 2nd round picks this year, and their 2014 1st round pick. The only thing that was holding up the deal was the Nuggets wish to include Timofey Mozgov in the deal, which the Knicks finally complied with last night. In return, the Knicks recieved Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, and Anthony Carter from the Nuggets. As part of a 3-way trade, the Knicks also sent Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry's expiring contract to the Timberwolves for Corey Brewer.

While the Knicks most certainly bolstered their core, they also executed a complete facelift by completing this deal. As illustrated above, the Knicks will have a virtually new roster, and now must build chemistry quickly as they make a run to compete with the Celtics, Heat and Bulls in the east. One can argue that this trade might have been as much about clearing cap space in order to obtain a third superstar point guard such as Deron Williams or Chris Paul in 2012, as it was about obtaining Carmelo. Regardless of what lies ahead, there is no doubt that the Garden will be electric if he reports to the team in time to play Wednesday against the Bucks, and Sunday night against the Miami Heat will serve as a measuring stick for where the Knicks will stand amongst the heavyweights in the Eastern Conference.

-AT

Source: Denver Post

Question: Are the Knicks in better shape for making this trade? Which player would you rather have in 2012: Deron Williams or Chris Paul?