The New York Knicks brought in Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets in a trade back during the 2010-2011 season. He became the best player on the team for a generation of Knicks fans. New York tried to build a contender around him.
While the Knicks never won a title with Anthony on the team, they were always a playoff team. Anthony did the best he could, but his supporting cast was always injured. He actually considered leaving New York and playing for the Chicago Bulls instead.
Recently, Anthony explained why he decided not to leave New York for Chicago.
GettyNew York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony dribbles the ball. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Carmelo Anthony Reveals Why He Stayed With the Knicks Over the Bulls
While on 7 PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony, Anthony talked about the reasons why he never signed a contract with Chicago.
“And a little birdie told me that sh– was about to break up in Chicago. So, I didn’t want to walk into that. You didn’t want to go to no bulls—. Yeah, it was just like, it was a lot of business that wasn’t handled. Contracts, people leaving, and coaches were leaving, it was whispers. So I didn’t want to deal with that. And I was already comfortable here, so the only place I’d have left for would have been Chicago.”
Anthony thought that he would have a better chance of winning a title with New York than with the Bulls. Chicago was starting to fall apart. Derrick Rose was constantly injured, and they didn’t have another star who could take the reins as the top dog.
Anthony was never able to win a championship with the Knicks. In fact, he retired without winning a title at all. He wasn’t able to win one later in his career with the Thunder, Lakers, or Rockets. Now, the Knicks actually have a shot to win an NBA title.
GettyNew York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson dribbles the ball in a game. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
New York has a Shot to win the Title Carmelo Anthony Couldn’t
The Knicks have not made the NBA Finals under the leadership of Jalen Brunson. After sweeping the Cavaliers, they get a chance to rest again before taking on the winner from the Western Conference. This is the first time they have made the Finals since 1999.
In that Finals, New York took on the Spurs. There is still a chance that there will be a rematch between those two teams this season. The Knicks have won 11 straight games in the playoffs, which gives them a ton of confidence that they can win the title over whoever comes out of the West.
Anthony never played on a team this talented when he was with the Knicks. Had he had a supporting cast as good as the one Brunson is playing with, he might have had a shot to get that elusive ring that he ended up retiring without. He will have to beat a really good team in order to do it.
Carmelo Anthony Explains Why he Never Left Knicks for the Bulls