Carmelo Anthony Headed to OKC

Sam Presti has been incredibly active this offseason, and last night, rumors broke that Carmelo Anthony had put the Oklahoma City Thunder on a short list of teams for which he would waive his no trade clause, and this afternoon, that’s exactly what happened.

New York has agreed to a deal to send Carmelo Anthony to OKC for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a draft pick, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 23, 2017

The deal sends Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a second-round draft pick to New York in exchange for Anthony. The loss of Kanter and McDermott is big for the Thunder, not just on the court, but off it. Kanter has been a major proponent of the Oklahoma City and the Thunder organization as a whole, and Dougie McBuckets was welcomed with open arms despite only playing a half a season.

Carmelo Anthony has been a league superstar in recent years, but his productivity has gone down since arriving in New York. Some critics blame the Knicks’ organization, while others have blamed Anthony’s work ethic, but when it all comes down to it, Melo gets a clean slate, so to speak, in Oklahoma City.

Anthony has never done much in the playoffs, and one big criticism of him has been his inability to get anywhere near a ring. He is known for his ability to score, and despite his lack of defense, he will make the Thunder extremely lethal in a number of ways. He will undoubtedly be a starter, which gives the Thunder a ton of scoring potential between him, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George. Perhaps this will be Melo’s opportunity to silence the haters.

This deal puts Oklahoma City in talks as a contender, and the Golden State Warriors have a serious problem on their hands. This newly branded version of the Thunder is likely only to stick together for this one season, but if they can manage to bring a ring home to the 405, who knows what could happen next summer.

Article written by Zack Low. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter and Instagram.