Carmelo Anthony: Rescuing the New York Knicks from a Kyrie Irving trade

Every time Carmelo Anthony refuses a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he rescues the New York Knicks from a future led by Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie Irving has at least one thing in common with Carmelo Anthony: Neither player can win if they are the only star on the court. However, a major difference between the two is that only Carmelo owns a no-trade clause.

Consequently, the New York Knicks are stuck with little leverage in a Carmelo trade scenario. Despite all the noise, the trade to the Knicks that Kyrie wants “very badly” still isn’t likely. Ian Begley of ESPN reported Wednesday that the Houston Rockets are still the only team Carmelo Anthony is focused on.

The knee-jerk reaction of being angry at Carmelo for being selfish or spiteful may be an overreaction. Is he upset at how Phil Jackson treated him last year? Definitely. But he has every right to be after what he endured.

Yet, whatever his reasons are for refusing to go to Cleveland don’t really matter. What matters is that losing Carmelo Anthony, possibly another player and draft picks for Kyrie Irving is not smart. The Knicks have chased stars via trade in the past and it has yet to lead to winning basketball.

Kyrie isn’t New York-ready

It would be ridiculous to insinuate in any way that Kyrie Irving isn’t one of the best point guards in the NBA.

However, there is legitimate proof that says Kyrie isn’t ready to lead a team. Carmelo Anthony was barely able to lead the New York Knicks deep into the playoffs, and that happened once.

ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh makes it clear that Kyrie Irving hasn’t proven he can carry a team. Kyrie and Carmelo both look great on the court as the sole star, but their teams don’t win.

Fans of the New York Knicks have seen Carmelo Anthony light up Madison Square Garden in multiple losing efforts. Unfortunately, swapping Carmelo for Kyrie would lead to much of the same. Haberstroh continues:

Taking LeBron James off the court makes the Cavaliers much less explosive and much less successful. It wouldn’t be logical, therefore, to think the Cavs would win at the same pace without LeBron.

However, if Kyrie Irving is the potential savior of the New York Knicks, he should be better than 4-13 on his own.

New York isn’t Kyrie-ready

Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post also wrote of Kyrie Irving’s failures earlier in the week. It may very well be true that Kyrie isn’t ready to lead New York. At the same time, the New York Knicks may not be ready for Kyrie Irving.

Carmelo Anthony’s effort to make the Knicks into a winner can’t be questioned. However, his effort, talent and teammates simply weren’t good enough. Carmelo never had a legitimate star to play alongside and that may be the main reason for his failure.

Not having that star teammate would also be a problem for Kyrie if he were traded to the Knicks. Kristaps Porzingis does have potential, but questions remain about his durability and consistency.

Tim Hardaway Jr. will excel in the Eastern Conference, but his true worth is still unproven. Furthermore, Frank Ntilikina is a couple of years away from being anything more than an energetic spark-plug.

The New York Knicks don’t need another Carmelo Anthony, nor do they need to repeat the kind of trade that brought him to New York. If Kyrie Irving did come to New York, he would make them a fringe playoff team at best. Consequently, the Knicks would be outside the NBA Draft Lottery and possibly without a draft pick next year at all.

Next: 5 teams that should make a trade offer for Kyrie Irving

If Carmelo Anthony is refusing to be traded to Cleveland, he may be doing the New York Knicks a huge favor.