Brand New-Be-N.Y.C #slow down

Damned if you do, Damned if you don't. that's how the front office of NY Knicks management felt about 8 hours ago. "Do we pull the trigger and trade our young nucleus who brought us from years of obscurity to recent relevance for a proven blue-chip player , or do we keep a poker face and gamble on signing Carmelo in the off-season?"

In lieu of the Lebron James "Decision" precedence set last summer, it would seem a player of Carmelo Anthony's magnitude would hardly tip his hand as to would he's plotting for the future but surprisingly (and almost refreshingly)he did. Anthony appeared to have learned from the mistakes of his 03 Draft brethren and kept it candid while maintaining humility throughout this media circus. And during said process, he consistently stated the Knicks would be a dream situation for he and his family

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So if you're the Donnie Walsh and the front office, you have the advantage right? Why break up a squad you could keep intact to play along with Melo after the summer? Because you can't take the chance of Melo not signing with you. At the end of the day it's still a business and with the new CBA around the corner, there's no guarantee he would make as much money via a free-agency contract opposed to an extension.

New York is a hell of a place to be but at the end of the day, it's "Show me the money!" For Carmelo to make the most money, he would have had to sign an extension with whatever team he's playing with before he became a free-agent this summer. Sure New York is his preference, but if the Russian Nets owner or Nuggets are offering him up to $7 million a year MORE then a potential free-agent Knicks deal, where do you think he's going to go? Most likely not New York!

That's why I commend Walsh and the Knicks for making the move. You can't take a gamble on a blue-chip player like Carmelo. Gallinari, Felton, and Chandler are to be saluted but you can replace that talent easier then you can hope to find a horse a la Melo. And imagine the humongous egg they would've been wiping from their face had they not landed him? How do you explain that to the hungry NY fan-base? You can't!

Which leads me to this Knicks fan, as I close. Don't expect much from the Knicks between now and the beginning of the 2012-13 season (when Derron Williams and CP3 become free agents). New York just traded a major clog that's very conducive to head coach Mike D'Antoni's run n gun style. Replacing Felton at point is Chauncey Billups, a point guard traded 4 years ago because Joe Dumars thought he was too old and slow. Then you have Carmelo. He can run but he makes his bread and butter in the paint area after dominating the ball for 13 seconds. Have patience. All of those fast paced, 120 point game explosions may be replaced most importantly with victories.

It's not going to happen over night, but the NYC is headed in the right direction. This trade definitely puts the beasts in the east. As we speak today, Boston and LA are the favorites to win. But in a few years Chicago, Miami, and New York will be reviving and intertwining their mid 90's rivalries. You can't tell me a conference Wade, Melo, Bron, D Rose, D Howard, Stoudemire (and old Bos) isn't the best. When Kobe passes the torch, Durant will be all by himself in the West. But I digress.