GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Carmelo Anthony had hoped his good friend Chris Paul would join the Knicks as part of a new Big Three in the Big Apple.
Instead, Paul landed with the Los Angeles Clippers after the NBA finally approved the trade Wednesday. Now Anthony, like just about everyone else around the league, believes the Clippers are a contender in the Western Conference.
“Of course,” Anthony said Thursday. “They got a great team, him and Chauncey [Billups]. Chauncey knows ho to play off the ball. He can handle the ball, everybody know that. Caron [Butler], Blake [Griffin], DeAndre [Jordan], they got a solid roster.
“So it’s just a matter of them putting it all together right now.”
Whereas the Melo Drama held the NBA hostage for much of last season before he was dealt to the Knicks at the trading deadline in February, the Paul Sweepstakes came and went in a condensed period of time, ending before the season begins Christmas Day.
“I’m just happy it went down,” Anthony said. “I’m happy he can get back to focusing on basketball and not have to worry about everything else. I’m proud of him.”
Still, Anthony said he can understand the feelings of frustration Paul had after NBA Commissioner David Stern vetoed the first proposed trade to the Lakers.
“I mean, I would feel just like Chris feels,” Anthony said. “I would be disappointed, I would be frustrated, I would be upset, but Chris got what he wanted. It went through.
“So no more David Stern talk from nobody, not from me, not from Chris and I hope from nobody else. I’m tired of talking about it, I’m tired of hearing about it and everybody just focus on basketball.”
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said he was happy Paul is headed to the Western Conference instead of somewhere in the East, like the Boston Celtics.
“That’s obvious,” he said with a smile. “But you know, if you’re going to try to win a championship, you gotta beat everybody so it really doesn’t matter.”
Amar’e Stoudemire said he’s not worried about the Clippers, only about the Knicks and their own pursuit of a title.
“It’s good for the Clippers,” he said. “It doesn’t affect us at all.”
