In 2011, the Denver Nuggets swung a blockbuster trade that sent New York native Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks.
While many think that Melo forced his way out of Denver so that he could move to a bigger market and play for his hometown team, that wasn't the story. During his appearance on Dwyane Wade's "The Why with Dwyane Wade" podcast, Anthony detailed what really happened to him in Denver.
"New York never was the place," explained Melo. " People think that I went there and was like 'Get me out of here in Denver'. Like that never was the case."
The case was they were coming off an appearance in the 2009 Western Conference Finals. And having played the champions at that time, Melo said he honestly felt that they could win a championship and that they were two players away from doing so.
Denver let Dahntay Jones walk away in free agency
According to Anthony, he felt that their breakthrough performance in the 2009 Playoffs indicated that they were headed in the right direction and that, with a few tweaks, they would be able to beat the Lakers. Melo added they didn't need to make significant changes because they were already there. If they were going to lose some pieces, they could've replaced them like plug-and-play.
"We ain't got to reinvent nothing. We were already there. We were two pieces away…You trade Dahntay Joes which was at that point a pivotal piece for our team, the type of team that we had. As a defender, he was tough. You know what I mean? Great leader, a locker room guy, great teammate, great person, great man. You get rid of him," said Melo.
Actually, Denver let Jones walk away in free agency. He signed a $10.6 million contract from the Indiana Pacers, and the Nuggets didn't match the offer. Anthony believes that the Nuggets could have topped the Pacers' offer, even by just $750K or $1 million, because he was sure that Jones would've loved to stay.
Melo felt the team was headed to a rebuild
After losing Jones, Melo said plenty of rumblings surrounded the team. There were talks that Chauncey Billups would be amnestied. There were also plans to send J.R. Smith and Nene Hilario to Chicago for Joakim Noah. Sensing that the franchise was looking to rebuild, Melo wanted out.
"Bro you about to hand me over here, you know what I'm saying? I'm saying like it took me six years to get to this point of making it to the Western Conference finals and now you want me to start all over again? No, so here what's we going to do. I don't know what y'all thing is but I'm not trying to rebuild. I'm not saying I want to get out of here but y'all got to show me y'all cards," Anthony expressed.
The former Syracuse Organe said that he almost got traded to the Nets, but he didn't want to go to New Jersey because, at that time, they were a struggling team that was about to relocate to Brooklyn. And so New York it was for Anthony. But as he said, he didn't handpicked the Knicks as his preferred landing spot.
