Getty Carmelo Anthony
New York Knicks alum Carmelo Anthony is a fan of the moves they made during the 2024 NBA Offseason. The future Hall-of-Famer praised his former team for the roster they have assembled on “Podcast P with Paul George.”
“I think they put together a really, really, really good roster. They took their time to get with the pieces that they really need. It probably was a lot of pressure on them to go get a super superstar, whatever type of superstar, whoever you think would be worthy of going to the Knicks. But they ain’t listen to none of that (expletive). They stuck with what they was doing. They knew the pieces that they needed,” Anthony said.
The Knicks are coming off their second consecutive playoff exit, then added Mikal Bridges to the roster. They lost Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder but should get Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson back healthy.
With Anthony, the furthest the Knicks went in the playoffs was the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2013. That was the only time they advanced past the first round with Anthony. They technically haven’t gone further with Jalen Brunson, but they have set themselves up better long-term than they did with Anthony.
Carmelo Anthony Talks Jalen Brunson’s Paycut
Jalen Brunson agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million extension with the Knicks during the offseason. Doing so gives the Knicks cap flexibility, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Anthony explained on that same podcast why he doesn’t think that was a good idea on Brunson’s part.
“Listen, you can’t make $113 million off the court,” Anthony said. “People is busting their ass out there and isn’t make $113 million off the court. I’m talking about people who’s been off the court or off the field for years and years, who are the biggest stars out there, they’re not making $100 [million] off the court. So that right there is different.
“[Brunson] is making something. He should be making something. $113 [million], to make that up on the backend, is crazy.”
Anthony accepted richer contracts to stay with the Knicks over taking slightly less money to play for a contender like the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks failed to build a contending roster around Anthony while he made the most money he possibly could.
Brunson’s new deal gives the Knicks the flexibility to add more help around him. While he could have made more, Brunson sacrificed his wealth for potentially more glory.
Knicks Traded Most of Their Roster for Carmelo Anthony
When the Knicks acquired Anthony in 2011, they traded many assets for him. That included Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, one of their first-round picks and two second-round picks.
Anthony would have been a free agent the following offseason, meaning the Knicks could have signed him outright and then traded those assets for more help. They were locked in with Anthony, which led to winning exactly one playoff series from 2011 to 2017.
The Knicks have surrounded better players around Brunson than they did with Anthony. By taking less money, the Knicks could have plenty more playoff success with Brunson than they ever did with Anthony.