Carmelo Anthony added Thunder to list of preferred destinations, then got traded to them

The New York Knicks moved on from the Carmelo Anthony era by trading the high-scoring forward to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

The move comes not long after Anthony expanded his list of desired trade destinations to include the Cavaliers and — most notably — the Thunder, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley.

Anthony’s no-trade clause gave him a ton of power this offseason, and his ideal landing spot had been with James Harden, Chris Paul and the Rockets. That trade never came together, however, which forced Melo to begin considering other destinations.

So with training camp set to begin, Anthony expanded his list in hopes of moving elsewhere before the season starts in three weeks. The Thunder were a fresh name linked to an Anthony trade, largely because the team already made a move for another small forward in Paul George.

Now Anthony is a member of the Thunder, so it’s fair to wonder how the new roster will work. Can Anthony and George co-exist on any roster, and especially one with as ball-dominant a guard as Russell Westbrook? And from the Knicks’ perspective, did they get enough?

Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and the Bulls’ second-round pick is not an ideal haul for the Knicks, but it shows how little leverage they had.

Kanter is one of the more productive offensive big men in the league, averaging 14 points in 21 minutes off the bench last season to go along with seven rebounds. That’s good production. The problems lie in his glaring defensive flaws. ESPN’s defensive Real Plus Minus ranked him fourth-worst among centers, which is barely above Jahlil Okafor. The Knicks already have a cheaper player with a similar resume to Kanter in Willy Hernangomez.

There’s no guarantee Kanter stays longer than a year, though, since he has a player option. So maybe the Knicks can clear him off the books quickly if he doesn’t fit.

The real value might come from McDermott, a former first-round pick, or the second-rounder that New York received. Otherwise, it seems like the Knicks acquired an expensive, redundant player as the core return to the Melo deal.

On paper, this trade doesn’t make much sense for New York.

Westbrook, George, and Anthony should make for a dynamite offensive force that could score at will. Losing Kanter won’t be a major loss for a team that starts Steven Adams, and the weight should almost completely be lifted off Westbrook’s shoulders to drop 30 points a night going forward.

The Thunder are also under immense pressure to win this season, with George set to be a free agent and Westbrook as well unless he signs the long-term extension offer the Thunder have placed in front of him.

But this trade probably doesn’t move the needle enough for Oklahoma City. Anthony has defensive flaws of his own that could hurt the team even if he and George can play next to each other.

Still, a big three of Westbrook, George, and Anthony? OKC understandably could not turn that down.