By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor
The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Paul George from Indiana earlier in the offseason and on Saturday, they agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks that will land Carmelo Anthony in OKC. The Thunder will be sending Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second round pick to New York for Anthony, who has been requesting a trade since the season ended for the Knicks in April.
New York has agreed to a deal to send Carmelo Anthony to OKC for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a draft pick, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 23, 2017
Sources: OKC will send New York a 2018 second-round pick via Chicago.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 23, 2017
So, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have a formidable "Big 3" to go up against Western Conference power house Golden State and Houston's duo of James Harden and Chris Paul. Both Russell Westrbook and Paul George played a big part in getting Carmelo Anthony to waive his no-trade clause, which will transfer over to Oklahoma City. Woj tweets that Anthony will be with the Thunder when they start training camp on Tuesday.
In the deal, Enes Kanter heads to the Big Apple after averaging 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season for Oklahoma City, shooting 54.5 percent from the floor. There's a good chance he gets the start next to Kristaps Porzingis in the front court to start the season. The Knicks will also receive former first round pick Doug McDermott in the trade. The two-year veteran played in 66 games last season for the Thunder, averaging
Carmelo Anthony hasn't made a playoff appearance since the 2012-13 season with the Knicks. Last season in New York, he averaged 22.4 points on 43.3 percent shooting and just under 36 percent from beyond the arc. Over his career, Anthony is averaging 24.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. According to Ian Begley of ESPN, Anthony was under the impression that a trade to Cleveland to join LeBron James was a strong possibility on Friday.