Knicks land Melo, but at what price?

Was New York Knicks general manager Donnie Walsh tied-up in a warehouse in Hell’s Kitchen, gaffer tape strewn across his face so that he couldn’t make a sound? That has to be the explanation for this Carmelo Anthony mega-trade going through on his watch.

For weeks now, we’ve heard rumors that Donnie Walsh has slowly been losing his grip on the team that hired him to save their franchise.

Only days ago it was revealed that the man whom he replaced, Isiah Thomas, has been whispering in Knicks’ owner James Dolan’s ear, and that these whispers were quickly becoming loud cries.

Well, yesterday, the worst kept secret in the NBA was screamed to the world. After months of speculation, conjecture and hearsay, it’s finally over. Carmelo Anthony has been traded to the New York Knicks. There aren’t many players left on the Knicks roster now, but Anthony is, and he’ll be suiting up on Wednesday against the Bucks.

But, ultimately, whose decision was this?

“Isiah is calling the shots for New York,” said one front-office executive with knowledge of the Carmelo Anthony trade talks. “It’s a disgrace. Donnie should walk.”

Donnie Walsh has not walked. He may soon, when his contract expires on April 30, but not yet. Still, one thing is crystal clear now if it wasn’t so before; Isiah Thomas looks to be firmly back in the drivers seat.

He is controlling James Dolan like a puppet and this trade reeked of Isiah Thomas, just when the franchise seemed to have cleansed itself of the stench he left on it from his time as Knicks President of Basketball Operations from 2003 to 2008.

Now, I’m not saying it was a bad deal. The Knicks got their man. But it was well above what Donnie Walsh was ever willing to pay. I mean, Carmelo Anthony made it redundantly clear that he was only ever going to sign a contract extension with the Knicks. Not the Nets, not the Nuggets.

Once upon a time it looked like the Nuggets would have no choice but to trade Anthony to the Knicks, and that the Knicks could facilitate a deal that left them with some of their more valuable pieces still in tact. Donnie Walsh knew this, and he had a plan.

Besides, it was Walsh who never wanted to give away Raymond Felton for an aging Chauncey Billups – a player, who, despite a friendly statistics sheet, clearly isn’t the player he was a few years ago. It was also Walsh was vehemently cried out against throwing emerging Italian forward – and fan favourite – Danilo Gallinari into the trade package.

But both were traded, and are now Denver Nuggets. This trade had all the hallmarks of an Isiah Thomas deal – all foreground and no future — something that the Knicks faithful must be slightly worried about in the forthcoming seasons.

The Nuggets, to their credit, did what they had to do. In the past twelve months they watched as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors each waited on their star player (LeBron James and Chris Bosh), hoping to convince them to stay and re-sign at seasons end, only to lose out when they both signed with the Miami Heat.

Both teams received draft picks in sign-and-trades, but neither benefited as much as the Denver Nuggets who were smart enough to know when to cut their losses. (The Nuggets also had the benefit of being able to deal with James Dolan!) In total, the Nuggets will receive four players (Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and a seven-footer in Timofey Mozgov), three future draft picks (one first-rounder, two second-rounders) and $3-million cash. In addition, they will receive a huge trade exception and free-up valuable cap space.

They could have panicked early and agreed to one of the many lowball offers that were being thrown at them before Christmas, but they stood firm and made the best of a bad situation.

But it is not the Nuggets that will receive the accolades for their astute dealings. The headlines will be big and bold: Carmelo Anthony is a now a New York Knick.

The Knicks currently sit two games above .500 (28-26), with a new superstar and a gutted roster. It’s not a horrible team by any stretch of the imagination; they will be extremely fun to watch for the remainder this season. But it is a team that could have been a whole lot better, especially had they kept Gallinari and possibly Mozgov.

Walsh knew this, and as of only a week ago it looked as if the Knicks would hold firm on their initials offerings. But then Dolan, advised by Isiah Thomas, pulled the trigger on this new deal. And here we are.

Still, the intention of the trade was not to win a Championship this season. But how will they fair in the next couple of seasons when the spotlight will truly be back on Madison Square Garden?

Questions will undoubtable begin to rumble about the free agent class of 2012 (Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Dwight Howard) and who the Knicks may be able to attract.

But with Amar’e Stoudemire earning just under $20-million in 2012/13 and Carmelo Anthony’s new contract forecast to be in the $20-million/year range, it will be extremely difficult for the Knicks to afford one of the aforementioned A-Grade free agents.

This problem is compounded even further when we consider that the new collective bargaining agreement will likely include a hard cap (if David Stern and the owners have their way) and the possibility of a franchise player tag, similar to that used in the NFL.

As it currently stands, the Knicks will have only three men under contract for the 2012/2013 season: Anthony, Stoudemire and Renaldo Balkman. If Donnie Walsh were in charge, I would feel very confident that the Knicks would make some shrewd acquisitions to position themselves for a title run that season.

But now that James Dolan seems to have blown up the business plan that Walsh had instilled over the past three years and is taking advice from Isiah Thomas, anything could happen.

The Knicks have acquired a bona fide superstar, somebody that may be better than Patrick Ewing who so valiantly led the Knicks to two NBA Finals appearances in the 1990’s. It is undoubtedly one of the biggest trades in their franchises’ history. But with the front office imploding before our very eyes, something feels unstable. Isiah Thomas is lurking in the shadows.

Nevertheless, whatever happens, there’s a new star on Broadway. The team that Donnie Walsh envisioned when he took on this job – complete with two legitimate superstars – is on its way to being complete.

It’s just a shame that he won’t be sticking around to see the fruits of his labor.