By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Carmelo Anthony described how he almost joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011 before the Denver Nuggets ultimately traded him to the New York Knicks. Melo said that the one responsible for the deal not happening was then-Nuggets coach George Karl.
“The deal was done with the Lakers,” Anthony said while visiting Dwyane Wade’s “The Why” podcast. “Me and Nenê for Lamar Odom and Bynum. That deal was done. I never thought about New York… When they turned that deal down, when George [Karl] had that deal and turned that deal now, now it’s like: ‘Oh, y’all don’t want me in the West, gonna send me to the East. Get me to New York.'”
“The deal was never with New York,” Anthony also mentioned. “The deal was with the New Jersey Nets. George Karl had a deal with Utah behind the scenes for Derrick Favors. Because he thought he was a Nene-type power forward. He wanted him to be the next Nene. I ended up in New York… that deal was never supposed to happen.”
The Knicks were the ones that landed Anthony. The 10-time All-Star forward stayed with New York until 2017 when was moved to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a trade that also included Enes Kanter.