The blockbuster trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks in 2011 remains one of the most polarizing transactions in franchise history. In exchange for the All-Star forward, the Knicks shipped off a core of young talent, including Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, and multiple draft picks, to the Denver Nuggets.
Years after the trade, Gallinari, who was drafted 6th overall by the Knicks in 2008, admitted in an interview with me on Scoop B Radio that he and his former teammates often wonder about the missed opportunity: what if the young core had stayed together?
The Unbroken Chemistry
Gallinari, who went on to become a premier scorer in the NBA, believes the young group was on the cusp of “building something special.”
“Well sometimes we talk about it or we meet about it with Amare, Raymond and other players who were there at that time and say if we would have stayed together we could have built something special,” Danilo Gallinari told me on Scoop B Radio. “So that’s what we say.”
Under the offensive system of coach Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks had begun to find their rhythm with a roster featuring Amare Stoudemire, J.R. Smith, Gallinari, Chandler, Felton, and others.
“Yeah, we had a very good chemistry going on,” Gallinari said. “Especially a few weeks before the trade, we were doing really well. But you know, that’s in the past now.”
The Anthony Era Results
While Gallinari acknowledges that the trade is history, the results for the Knicks in the aftermath often fuel the debate. After acquiring Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks went 207-269, won only one of four playoff series, and then missed the postseason in the four years immediately following that trade.
Gallinari himself had shown flashes of star potential in New York, including an unforgettable Halloween game in 2009 where he poured in a season-high 30 points and hit eight three-pointers—just one short of the Knicks’ franchise record then held by John Starks and Latrell Sprewell. His sharp shooting and potential are what make the “what if” scenario so persistent for fans and the players involved.
Gallinari’s perspective reflects a common theme in NBA history: the difficulty of sacrificing long-term potential for immediate, guaranteed stardom.
