Just a few days ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Carmelo Anthony in a blockbuster trade. After a long wait and a couple of unsuccessful years in New York, the small forward was finally traded to another team. Anthony is going back to the West, but this time, he will be on a competitive team and there is a good chance he will finally achieve success in the postseason.
With this trade, the Thunder concluded their successful offseason. Not only did they acquire Anthony, but they also added Paul George. Two superstar forwards will be playing alongside Russell Westbrook next season, but things could have been much different.
According to Carmelo Anthony, he was almost traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this summer. If the trade went through, both Anthony and George would be on the Cavaliers.
Anthony and George on the Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers were frontrunners to acquire both Anthony and George. It is not a secret that many players want to play with LeBron James and dominate the league. Unfortunately, the Indiana Pacers did not want to trade Paul George to their conference rivals. As for Anthony, it seems that Kyrie Irving's trade request made him change his mind, and the Houston Rockets became his first and only trade option.
At the end, the Thunder somehow acquired both forwards, surprising everyone. However, it was the Cavaliers who nearly landed both of them.
Apparently, there was a trade in place on the draft night, but it was eventually canceled. Carmelo Anthony talked about it, saying that the deal was actually done.
"It was funny because me and PG was supposed to be in Cleveland on draft night. We were communicating about that. The deal was actually done and it got called off on draft night, so me and PG stayed connected throughout the course of the season," the forward said during a SiriusXM interview.
While watching Paul George and Carmelo Anthony team up with LeBron James would be interesting and fun, the Cleveland Cavaliers have still done a great job forming their team for the next season.
Anthony's trade to the Rockets
Carmelo Anthony also claims that his trade to the Houston Rockets was done. According to the forward, the deal was done, but for some reason, it did not go through.
At the end, the New York Knicks ended up trading him to the Thunder where he joined Paul George. There is no doubt that Anthony will be in a much better place next season. His tenure with the Knicks was a disaster and he deserves to be on a competitive team.
