2011年2月22日星期二

Fans gush as news of Melo trade hits bars

New York City basketball fans were excited Monday night as news spread that the Knicks finally acquired Carmelo Anthony as part of a three-team, 12-player deal.

“Oh my god, I’m so excited,” exclaimed Angel Macias, 21, from Brooklyn. “It’s a jump. This will make everything better. He’s definitely going to carry the team and they are definitely going to go to the playoffs.”

“The Knicks really needed someone to play with Amar'e and they finally got that go to guy,” Todd Brzozowski, 26.

That was the overwhelming feeling is that this was the move that would finally put the Knicks over the top. But being New Yorkers just trading for Anthony is not enough, now he has to provide the results.

“Just trading for Anthony is not enough,” explained Charlie Sanchez, 23. “It takes a lot more than just getting a guy. They have to mesh well together and the moral has to be strong otherwise the team will be weak.

A few felt a sting in the amount that the Knicks gave up, but understood that getting a player of Anthony’s stature usually stings.

“It is rough what they lost,” Brzozowski said. “That’s what has to happen to get a premiere player like that. It’s going to be especially bad losing Gallinari because he just had so much potential. He’s a big guy and a good shooter, you don’t just find those.”

The bartender at the Bean Post Pub in Brooklyn, where the Nets will soon call home, Dave Qualben, 25, was especially excited at the prospect of the Knicks making the playoffs.

“The best thing for New York bars are its teams making the playoffs,” Qualben said. “If it were up to me every New York team would make the playoffs every year.”

There were a few skeptics, but the overwhelming feeling is that this is the move that puts the Knicks over the top. Almost everyone felt that the playoffs were inevitable and some even thought that a NBA title was even possible.

“They can challenge any team in the league now,” Macias said. “I don’t see why isn’t not possible for them to go all the way. It’ll be tough, but they might be able to do it.”

The deal has yet to be official, but according to ESPN's Chris Broussard the Knicks will send Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, and a 2014 first-round draft pick to the Nuggets along with additional picks and cash. In return the Knicks get Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Renaldo Balkman.

The Knicks will also send Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry to Minnesota as part of the deal and Corey Brewer will now be a Knick, according to the newspaper.