[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

There was no shot of him signing with the Nets. This isnt baseball where a team like the Yankees can just blow everyone out of the water. The deal he would have signed as a FA is going to be the same regardless of where he went. HE wanted to be traded because he makes more money resigning as a member of a team than as a unrestricted FA. DENVER wanted to trade him because they did not want to wind up like Cleveland. But seriously do you think the Nets would have made a deal for him if they had no guarantee that he would resign with them? The Russian simply played his hand as well as possible by bluffing the crosstown rivals into giving up too much.

I am a Knick fan. I will root for him. But the fact is that he was coming to NY regardless and he could have come to a team that is a lot better than the team he will play on.

Exactly. The Nets owner played the Knicks like a fiddle. I don't like the trade for the Knicks at all. As you said, he would have come in the summer anyway and they would have kept all of the players. There was no need for them to give up all that they did. Last I checked, Anthony still doesn't play defense. Pairing him with another matador defender like Stoudamire is asking for trouble. Anthony is strictly box office in NY. He'll provide some offense but offense wasn't their problem since they are second on the league in scoring anyway. I also don't think that Billups is that good of a fit in that style of play. They gave up a ton and didn't get enough back and what is it going to do for them this year? Nothing. They still aren't better than Boston, Miami, Chicago, or Orlando. This MAY put them past Atlanta. So they perhaps are in a position to win a playoff series. I think they would have been better off without getting Anthony and trying to lure Dwight Howard next year when he would have been in the final year of his own contract.