Star forward Carmelo Anthony is starting to warm up after his trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The details of his mysteriously long-winded exit out of New York have had some interesting twists, such as a near trade to the Houston Rockets. But another deal was also nearly done, one in which both Anthony and now Thunder teammate Paul George would’ve gone to Cleveland.
In a SiriusXM radio interview Anthony mentioned that he and George were initially both going to join LeBron James in Cleveland. The blockbuster trade was to be completed on the night of the 2017 NBA Draft, but the transaction fell through. Now, Anthony has little pressure and can reflect on the mayhem that was his final few months in New York. Via ESPN’s Ian Begley:
“Me and PG (Paul George) have a very close friendship. Actually, it was funny because me and PG was supposed to be in Cleveland on draft night. we were communicating about that. The deal was actually done and it got called off on draft night, so me and PG stayed connected throughout the course of the season.”
This falls in line with other stories about George’s exit from Indiana. General manager Kevin Pritchard reportedly got cold feet and pulled out of the deal. The “what could have been” scenarios are delicious to think about, but those two paired with LeBron James in Cleveland way top the list. At the end of the day, it was Oklahoma City who jumped at the opportunity after Carmelo Anthony expanded his list of desireable trade destinations.
