Melo To The Thunder Forms A New OK3, But Will It Work?

Welcome to The Truda Report everybody. Today I'll be talking about the Carmelo Anthony trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder and what it means for the Knicks, Thunder, and NBA.​ Tomorrow expect an article about the NFL's week 3 action, and then Thursday I'll get around to my prediction for Dwayne Wade in free agency. Make sure to share this article as it helps TTR grow.

Carmelo Anthony Trade: 
Knicks Receive: Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, Chicago Bulls 2018 Second Round Pick
Thunder Receive: 10x All Star Carmelo Anthony

My Reaction:
What should be listed under what the Knicks receive is a line of poop emojis. Has anyone heard of the phrase "don't trade a dollar for four quarters," because that applies right now. Never trade away a star for a bunch of assets, because in basketball it is much more valuable to have the best player. It is also widely known that the team that receives the best player usually wins the trade, and that also applies here. Not only did OKC get the best player, but they only gave up 3 quarters for the dollar. 

I know I'm being harsh here, but come on New York. As a Bulls fan I can tell you that the Doug McDermott experiment won't go well, and although Kanter is a solid player, he is on a terrible contract. I understand Anthony is an aging player that has never proven himself able to carry a team to the promised land, but that's not what teams want out of him at this point. Melo wanted to be on a contender, and that meant either Cleveland, Houston, or obviously Oklahoma City. Melo is still one of the top 25 players in the league today (ESPN was greatly mistaken by placing him at 62 on their list) and his offensive ability can greatly benefit any team in the league.

So how is it that New York justifies this trade? I know. . . the development of Kristaps Porzingis! But wait a second, Porzingis has gotten better every single year with Anthony on the team anyways, so how is it the Knicks still want to make this move? My response is that the value of stars has gone down greatly this past off season. We have seen in the Jimmy Butler trade, Paul George trade, and now the Carmelo Anthony trade that teams entering or in a rebuild will take next to nothing for their stars if it allows them to tank the upcoming season. Analytics have ruined the values of stars because now teams will take prospects in hope of an incredible career turnaround over some of the best talents in the NBA.

What does this mean for the Knicks and Thunder going forward, now? This means that New York will be riding on the shoulders of the Latvian Unicorn, and the Thunder are going to be the third best team in the West. I'm not jumping on the Thunder bandwagon. Everyone thinks now that there is a new OK3 in the West that the Warriors will have to look out, but I don't think that even the Rockets should start worrying. Obviously this Thunder team is going to be good, and they look great on paper. The issue is that they have a lack of 3 point shooting, and they have 3 ball dominant players competing for shots. Again, as a Bulls fan I can tell you that this doesn't work. The Three Alphas movement in Chicago failed last year due to Jimmy Butler, Dwayne Wade, and Rajon Rondo all competing for the ball. This not only led to awkwardness on the court, but locker room issues. I just don't see the Thunder pulling ahead of the Rockets, a 3 point based team, when they have 3 alphas, 2 of which were shipped to this team without necessarily planning on letting their usage rates drop.

Overall I think this is still a great trade for the Thunder, and this further proves that the Knicks are a lost team. More will be revealed as the season gets closer, but for now lets all just appreciate what has been a very entertaining off season.