The debate is raging: who should be traded to get Carmelo Anthony? Should it be Anthony Randolph? Danilo Gallinari? Or should the Knicks wait, and scoop up Carmelo next summer for nothing?
The answer is: trade whomever it takes from this roster. You'll put the pieces together later.
Sounds crazy, right? Well, this is how the NBA works now.
Think about what happened in Miami. The Heat grabbed the superstars first, then figured out how to build around them. Naturally, the secondary players want to win, so they quickly followed.
Do you really think if Denver is going to part ways with Anthony that they will wait a year to make a trade? Of course not. Some team will bowl them over with talent. As they should; Anthony is a top-5 NBA performer.
And the Knicks have the added advantage of dealing either Gallo or Randolph as a centerpiece who, in either case, doesn't fit well with an Anthony/Stoudemire team. Ideally, Randolph holds down a power forward spot- Gallo profiles as a small forward. See the problem?
Also worth noting: by the time either of them develops, the Knicks will have wasted several Stoudemire prime years.
This is not the proper way to leverage your superstar. (See also Ewing, Patrick.)
I am not suggesting the Knicks were wrong to clear cap space and hope for LeBron. But we see precisely how hard it is to gt such a superstar.
Carmelo wants to come to New York? Do what it takes and ask questions later.
After all, the only guys who are more talented or better fits for this team are either already in Miami, or deemed untouchable by the Hornets.
So who are the Knicks waiting for?