Carmelo Anthony will never make anyone’s all-defensive team. he won’t always be the first scoring option on a team that already loves to feed Amar’e Stoudemire the ball. New York’s trade for Anthony was a deal the Knicks had to make. A team that hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2004 and that hasn’t finished over .500 since 2001 is suddenly relevant again. Having two superstars in uniform makes New York a destination city for NBA talent again. Now New Yorkers can take pride in having two stars who made Manhattan their first choice. And you can almost hear the whispers of fans and the calls flowing in to talk radio, and perhaps even Chris Paul himself talking to his agent about making a move to the Big Apple.

Yes, the Knicks are only two games over .500. Getting ‘Melo in the house won’t bring magic and suddenly make the Knicks the beasts of the East but it will make New Yorkers care about the Knicks again. And it has been a long, long time since anyone could say that. Heck, I was born in 1986 so I can hardly remember the kicks even being decent aside from the playoff appearance in 2004. I mostly remember all of the forgettable Isah Thomas chronicles that have gone on in the past.

As for the trade itself:

There are a lot of names changing addresses and a lot of talented basketball players are on the move. as a result of this blockbuster trade but the headliner of the trade is undoubtedly Carmelo. He led the Nuggets to the playoffs in each of his first seven seasons in Denver after winning a national title at Syracuse as a freshman and had them positioned for another playoff run this year. But Denver advanced out of the first round just once in that time.

He stood to become the headliner of the 2011 free-agent class, but he didn’t want to risk free agency knowing a new collective bargaining agreement could cost him millions. He

gets his apparent wish to join a Knicks team that is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and in position for its first playoff berth in seven years.

The Knicks will make their postseason run without the core of the team. Felton, Gallinari, Mozgov and Chandler were four of New York’s top six players, and there is some thought the Knicks gave up too much to get Anthony, a sensational scorer headed to a team that doesn’t necessarily need more scoring. However, the Knicks felt they couldn’t pass on the opportunity to land a 26-year-old superstar once he became available. Assuming he extends with the Knicks, Anthony and Stoudemire would be under contract for four more seasons and frankly, I can’t blame them.

After all, it’s not every day that you get the chance to acquire a franchise player. Especially, when you are trying to make your team and the sport relevant in your city for the first time in a long, long, time.