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.