Carmelo Anthony has officially been traded from the New York Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The New York Knicks today announced the full details of the trade which will send Carmelo to OKC in exchange for center Enes Kanter, forward Doug McDermott and the Chicago Bulls' 2018 second round pick.
Knicks President Steve Mills released the following statement today after making the trade official.
“This is a deal we feel works for both this franchise and Carmelo," Mills said. "We thank him for his seven seasons in a Knicks uniform and all that he accomplished off the court for the City of New York by using his platform to address social issues."
“We will continue to focus on this team looking forward towards the immediate and long-term future. As we have said recently, this is a new beginning for the New York Knicks.”
Carmelo also addressed the trade today in a heartfelt good bye letter in which he expressed his immense love for the city of New York, the Knicks fans, the organization, and even team owner Jim Dolan.
In the message posted to Melo's official website, ThisisMelo.com, the 33-year old forward writes,
"New York equipped me to make it in any other place in the world. It taught me how to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable. Saying Goodbye is the hardest thing to do. I never thought I would, especially to you. No one will ever take your place. It’s hard to find someone like you, so know you will always be missed. You helped me laugh. You dried my tears. Because of you, I have no fears. You came into my life and I was blessed. It’s time to raise my hand and say goodbye. It’s not the end, because like I’ve always said, NYC ‘til the end."
Ironically, Carmelo and his new Oklahoma City Thunder teammates will play host to the Knicks in their first game of the season on Thursday, October 17th.
You can read Carmelo's full letter to New York here.
https://twitter.com/_/status/912327527816925184