Welcome to our second Knicktion: Knicks-based fiction. In the first part of this two-part series, Shwinnypooh and Knicks Illustrated imagine a world where the Knicks balked at Denver’s asking price for Carmelo Anthony in 2011, letting him instead go to their crosstown rival.

On the day Carmelo Anthony was traded to the Nets, 8-year-old Knick fan Kris Pursiainen cried.

“It was the darkest day of my short life,” Kris told The Strickland. “It was the first time I really understood the feeling of being robbed.” 

In the spring of 2011, when Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony asked to be traded to the Knicks in advance of his free agency that summer, it created a shockwave of anticipation around the league.

“I thought it was meant to be,” recalled Pursiainen. “I was born in 2002. The Knicks hadn’t been good in my entire lifetime, and a top-five player who happened to be born in one of the five boroughs asked to come here…”

Over the course of months there were prolonged trade talks between Denver and New York. It seemed destined that The Knicks, not known for a patient approach under the stewardship of owner James Dolan, would ultimately do what needed to be done to get Melo.

“...And we blew it,” said Kris.

The deal died when Knicks General Manager Donnie Walsh balked at Denver’s hefty ask. Walsh wanted to keep the Knicks’ powder dry for another star to pair with Melo, preferring to sign him in free agency that summer. But the New Jersey Nets, motivated to scoop the Knicks and acquire a marquee star in advance of their move to Brooklyn, were only too happy to push their chips in. And Melo, wary of the looming NBA lockout, was motivated to secure his payday and sign an extension with a new team during the 2010-11 league year.

“Some said that we could have gotten Carmelo in free agency the following summer, but he was never going to let himself hit free agency,” lamented Pursiainen. “Geographically, Carmelo was where he wanted to be, just in a different uniform. ”

Kris was right: Carmelo signed a three-year, $65 million max extension with the Brooklyn Nets in an extend-and-trade deal, posting outlandish numbers in New Jersey for the remainder of the 2011 season.

Walsh resigned as GM of the Knicks shortly thereafter.

“I’m comfortable here,” said Carmelo when asked about his decision, the word BROOKLYN emblazoned across his chest. “I’m home.”

***

It wasn’t just Kris: many Knicks fans had been enamored with the idea of bringing Melo to New York since the previous summer, when Chris Paul gave an indiscreet speech at the Anthony’s wedding.

The Point God stood, champagne glass in hand (perhaps not his first), and toasted — not to the union of bride and groom, but to the potential union of himself, the groom, and recently-signed New York Knick Amar’e Stoudemire. Paul declared, “We’ll form our own Big 3.”

Chris’ toast came on the heels of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh’s infamous decision to take their talents to South Beach. In the weeks running up to LeBron’s ultimate decision to join Miami, it was assumed by fans, media members, and the Knicks organization itself that New York was the frontrunner to land the star. 

However, as LeBron’s choice to join the Heat over the Knicks became clear, the Knicks’ organizational mandate did as well: they needed to save face. The Knicks committed a five-year, $100 million contract to free agent Amar’e Stoudemire to be their marquee star.

The whirlwind week ended with Chris Paul’s toast at Carmelo’s wedding, which cued endless photoshopped images of Paul in a Knicks jersey alongside newly-minted Knick Stoudemire and soon-to-be free agent Anthony. Having already signed one of the three, Knicks owner James Dolan felt it was fait accompli.

“After that champagne toast, Dolan thought it was destiny for both Melo and CP3 to become Knicks,” said a source. “You can imagine internally it was seen as a minor miracle when Donnie persuaded Jim to practice patience when Carmelo requested a trade. Donnie convinced Jim it was the right move to wait until free agency to sign Melo.”

According to sources, Dolan was apoplectic when Carmelo signed his extension, opting to be the star to usher the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn. With only STAT to lead them, the Knicks had missed the playoffs in 2010-11, and they no longer had an immediate path to acquire a second (let alone a third) star.

Dolan immediately demanded Walsh’s resignation and promoted Vice President of Basketball Operations Glen Grunwald to GM.

Although dreams of a big three had faded, Grunwald had convinced Dolan not all was lost: the Point God was still out there.

***

When Paul requested a trade shortly after the NBA lockout in late 2011, it came as no surprise that the Knicks were aggressive in their pursuit.

“It quickly became clear the mandate Jim had given to Glen [Grunwald] was to do whatever it took to get Chris,” said the source. “Dolan wanted Paul at all costs. No price was too much.”

But the Knicks had competition. The Nets were interested, but the most daunting competitors for his services were the Lakers and Clippers, each believing in their ability to re-sign him.

New Orleans GM Dell Demps let it be known he preferred “players, not picks” in any trade: he wanted a combination of proven veterans and promising young players to avoid an arduous and protracted rebuild in a small market with little fan enthusiasm.

The Nets immediately fell out. Having depleted their roster in the Melo deal, they were unable to put together a competitive offer. The Clippers were similarly hamstrung, after dealing promising young guard Eric Gordon as the centerpiece of their own blockbuster trade for Deron Williams at the previous season’s trade deadline.

That left the Lakers and Knicks. 

Grunwald offered a rich package: the same combination of players and picks that was requested by Denver for Carmelo Anthony. Yet that exorbitant sum was considered less favorable than the Lakers’ offer, which included Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and Lamar Odom, as well as promising young guard Goran Dragic and a first round pick in a complicated three-team deal involving Houston.

“Demps thought that would be enough to keep New Orleans in the playoffs,” said one source with knowledge of his thinking. “So they shook hands on it.”

Once again, the Knicks saw their hopes of landing a superstar begin to fade. Chris Paul would be a Laker.

But, for the first time in nearly a decade, fortune smiled upon the Knicks. 

The reasons for NBA Commissioner David Stern’s veto of the Paul-to-the-Lakers trade beyond the given explanation (“basketball reasons”) are still debated. Many felt that small market owners just refused to sign off on a team they were bankrolling trading their superstar to the Lakers. (The league was looking for a buyer for the Hornets at the time, thus giving unilateral control of the franchise and its moves to Stern temporarily.)

Others theorize Stern was giving the Knicks, the NBA’s flagship team in the largest media market in the country, a needed boost at a time when the league’s ratings were stagnant and needed a jolt on the heels of a devastating lockout.

Either way, the Lakers were out and the Knicks were in the driver’s seat. They sent Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, Raymond Felton, a 2012 first round pick, a 2014 pick swap, and multiple second round picks to New Orleans for Paul.

Chris Paul was officially a New York Knickerbocker.

The team’s starting five was a motley group headed by a trio of veteran superstars who were thirsty to win: starting at point guard was Paul; the 4 was occupied by the increasingly injury-prone Stoudemire; Tyson Chandler, recruited by Paul fresh off a championship with the Mavericks, anchored the middle.

Larger question marks for the team were the shooting guard and small forward spots. Out of necessity, the team brought back unremarkable small forward Billy Walker, who received a good amount of minutes backing up Landry Fields at the 3. Unfortunately, the Knicks were plagued by weak play at the 3 for the entire season, when Fields saw huge regression shooting the ball after his surprise All-Rookie campaign and Bill Walker was… Bill Walker. However, one of the happiest surprises of the season was sweet-shooting rookie 2 guard Klay Thompson.

Klay was selected with the 10th pick in the 2011 draft by the Knicks largely at the urging of head coach Mike D’Antoni. Though Klay led the Pac-10 in scoring in his final year with Washington State, his age and defensive question marks caused him to drop to the fringes of the lottery.

“D’Antoni couldn’t have given less of a fuck about any of Klay’s question marks,” said a war-room source. “We brought him to Tarrytown for a pre-draft visit, and after about a half hour of running him through shooting drills Mike was ready to leave his wife and kids for him. He was pissed when we passed on Jrue Holiday for Jordan Hill. If we had passed on Klay for anybody he’d have quit on the spot.”

The Knicks entered the 2011-12 season with high expectations. On paper, this was the strongest team they had fielded since the halcyon days of Patrick Ewing, but games aren’t played on paper. 

While Paul immediately established dynamic pick-and-roll partnerships with STAT and Chandler, the rest of the team struggled to get on the same page. Thompson, while proving immediately able to knock down shots from the perimeter, lacked consistency game-to-game and struggled to pick up on the intricacies of defense at the NBA level. Fields remained a dogged defender, but his offense became a hindrance rather than an asset. He couldn’t cash in on the wide open looks teams conceded to him in order to crowd the paint, shooting a paltry 25.6% from deep in his second season.

Even more problematic was the lack of depth. For all of the starting lineup’s shortcomings, Paul and Chandler’s brilliance anchoring the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, respectively, kept them productive. However, as soon as the team needed to turn to the journeymen populating the bench, things inevitably went poorly. Mike Bibby, Bill Walker, Jared Jeffries, Renaldo Balkman, and Toney Douglas couldn’t tread water in their minutes. They were routinely blitzed, burdening the starters with heavy deficits. As a result, the Knicks floundered to an 8-15 start just over a third of the way into a condensed 66-game schedule.

Even with the high-profile additions of Paul and Chandler, it seemed the Knicks were still doomed to underwhelm. But from darkness emerges light, and from the smoldering embers of the tire fire that was the Knicks’ bench came hope. 

Desperate for a spark during another listless bench performance in a primetime showdown against Carmelo and the Nets, D’Antoni turned to Jeremy Lin, a young, unproven point guard the team had picked up off of waivers. With the Knicks down 12 midway through the third, Lin helped flip the script, attacking the rim with reckless abandon time and time again, leading the Knicks to a 109-98 victory.

Lin’s dramatic star turn ignited the Knicks’ season as they ripped off an 11-game win streak. Paul had never had so many tools at his disposal: two bruising roll threats in Stoudemire and Chandler, an elite 3-point shooter in Thompson spacing the floor, and a red-hot sixth-man scorer in Lin to man the ship when Paul sat. D’Antoni even experimented using both Paul and Lin together in the backcourt with great success. The team and its fans were riding high.

“No one saw it coming,” recalled Pursiainen. “I’d talk about it with my fellow fifth grade classmates every day: We had superstars leading the team in STAT, Tyson, and Chris, and we had a legit youth movement with Klay and Lin. It was insanity. ”

However, the insanity hit a speed bump when the Knicks faced their most feared rival super team: The James/Bosh/Wade Heat.

Miami had entered the season with a chip on their shoulder after their shocking Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. With the lockout allowing for more time than usual to dwell and reflect on their loss, they were out for vengeance. Every opponent bore the brunt of their wrath, and this rising Knicks team being touted as a genuine challenger to Miami’s conference supremacy deserved special attention. 

From the tip, the Heat showed no mercy, as LeBron and Wade exposed the Knicks’ lack of size on the wing. In particular, they delighted in punishing Thompson, the rookie, culminating in a sequence where James blocked a three on one end, then backed Klay down all the way from the 3-point line for a dunk on the subsequent possession.

Miami raced out to a commanding 17-point lead at the end of the first quarter, and things went from bad to worse. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went after Lin and the bench unit with a highly aggressive trapping scheme that Lin was not prepared for. By halftime, Miami had pushed the lead out to 32.

“At halftime, nobody said anything,” said Paul. “We were in a state of shock.”

Not much changed in the second half, although Miami’s defensive intensity palpably dropped with the result already in hand. They weren’t done sending a message, though. Wade and James spent most of the fourth quarter engaged in a competitive water bottle flipping contest that literally spilled onto the court at one point.

The message was clear: You’re a cute story, but you’re not in our weight class.

It was clear to Grunwald, watching from the stands, that more was required to come out of the East with LeBron and company in their way. In advance of the 2012 trade deadline, Grunwald desperately searched for a “LeBron Stopper.”

The Knicks’ primary target was Philadelphia forward Andre Iguodala, but the Sixers were reluctant to deal within their own division, still holding out hope for a late playoff run of their own. Grunwald inquired about the price for Metta World Peace and Shawn Marion, but found their respective teams’ asking price of Lin to be far too steep in the middle of his breakout season.

Grunwald eventually took a punt on a long shot, trading a second round pick to the Lakers for Luke Walton. Walton’s ability to handle the ball, spread the floor, play both forward spots, and take on a variety of defensive matchups, it was hoped, would provide a needed boost. The concern was his health, which had become increasingly fickle over the years. He had only played nine games with the Lakers before the trade.

“We understood Glenn was hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, but the bottle was already shattered”, a source close to Grunwald said. “Luke was a good player, and he had plenty of championship experience from his time in Los Angeles, but that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t stay on the floor.”

The Knicks added even more to the wing by signing ex-Nugget J.R. Smith, whose deal to play in China expired midseason. The Knicks had shrewdly saved their biannual exception, hoping for an opportunity like this to present itself. Competition for his services was intense: Brooklyn made a strong push, with Melo himself recruiting his former Denver teammate, but the extra cash the Knicks offered proved to be the difference (along with Paul’s own ties to Smith from New Orleans, where they had played two seasons together before Smith was traded for, ironically, Chandler).

The Knicks regained their stride after reshuffling their roster, finishing the season strong with a 37-29 record and the No. 6 seed in the East. While the Knicks couldn’t secure home court advantage, there would be playoff basketball in Madison Square Garden once again. 

***

The Knicks would face a familiar opponent in the first round of the playoffs: the Indiana Pacers. Commencing the series on hostile ground, Knicks brass were confident that their now-strengthened wing rotation could hold its own against the Pacers’ own formidable set, led by veteran scorer Danny Granger and rising second-year talent Paul George.

Although the Pacers' star wings proved potent offensively, with Granger’s size in particular proving troublesome, the Knicks were able to respond with Thompson and Smith catching fire from beyond the arc, both setting Knicks playoff records for 3-pointers made in a series. With the Knicks able to withstand the Pacers’ wing barrage, Paul and Lin ran riot against their counterparts, George Hill and Darren Collison. 

As the series went along, the disparity in top-end talent proved to be too much. New York split the first two on the road, before dispatching the Pacers with three consecutive double-digit blowouts, including a 27-point, 16-assist Chris Paul masterclass in a 107-93 Game 5 win.

Indiana’s corn-fed fundamentals proved no match for New York’s explosive offense with CP3 at the helm. Leaving Indiana behind after a gentleman’s sweep, the Knicks' next stop was South Beach and the Miami Heat: the matchup for which they had been built.

LeBron lit the Knicks up for averages of 36.5 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists over the first two games, seemingly determined to make a mockery of Luke Walton’s “LeBron Stopper” label. 

Thompson likewise had a difficult time staying in front of Wade, who frequently left him for dead on a number of signature forays to the rim. Even when Klay was able to stay in front of him, Wade’s midrange mastery provided a painful experience for the rookie. Wade rampaged his way to consecutive triple-doubles, averaging 22.5 points, 11 rebounds, and 11.5 assists. 

With the series moving back to New York with the Knicks down 2-0, D’Antoni tried to tweak his wing rotation, moving Klay to the bench and starting Billy Walker in his stead.

The Knicks got a minor break in advance of Game 3, when it was reported Heat star forward Chris Bosh would be out indefinitely with an abdominal strain. A hot streak shooting performance off the bench from J.R. (24 points) and masterful distribution from Chris Paul, who tallied 18 points and 13 assists, allowed New York to edge an anxious 97-92 Game 3 win at the Garden. However, by the following morning, stories began to leak that Chris Paul had strained his hamstring late in the fourth quarter. 

Sure enough, in Game 4, Chris Paul came out hobbled. His jumpers fell short, and he couldn’t get into the paint. Attempting to adjust, D’Antoni exploited Bosh’s absence by making Stoudemire the focal point of the Knicks’ attack. Stoudemire went to work, utilizing his explosive face-up game and draining jumpers out of pick-and-pop actions with Paul en route to 26 first half points, after being held to just 31 points combined over the first three games. 

Spoelestra countered by sliding LeBron to the 4. LeBron neutralized Stoudemire, as the Knicks’ star forward was unable to blow past him to the rim and had his air space closed down when he tried to rise up from the perimeter. On the other end of the floor, Amar’e simply could not slide his feet with LeBron. Late in the fourth, LeBron drew him out to the perimeter, crossed him up on an ankle-breaking drive, dropping the big man to the floor, before cramming a Garden-silencing tomahawk dunk, extending the Heat lead to six points with a minute and a half left in regulation.

With their season on the precipice, Paul dug deep for an incredible display of clutch shot making. He hit four consecutive jumpers over Mario Chalmers while Miami’s offense stalled out down the stretch. A halfcourt prayer from Wade fell short as the Knicks eked out a two-point victory, knotting the series at 2-2.

James and Wade stormed off the Garden floor to a cacophony of jeers and cheers from the Garden faithful, but it was Paul’s exit, clutching his hamstring, avoiding reporters as he limped out of the locker room, that stole the headlines in the aftermath of the game.

The following morning it was announced that Paul was out indefinitely with a hamstring strain.

The Knicks lost the following game in Miami in an almost perfunctory fashion: Lin, starting at point guard, looked like a lamb being led to slaughter. He was swarmed by the Heat right from the tip and was held to just six points and three assists in 35 chastising minutes.

Without a functional floor general to set them up, the Knicks couldn’t get any flow to the offense, resulting in an assortment of contested jump shots and ill-fated post-ups. 

“D’Antoni went to J.R. a lot,” remembers Pusiainen. “Like, more than was healthy. It was ugly.”

J.R. Smith finished with 20 points on 26 shots, and the Knicks lost the game 88-106.

The Knicks' feel-good season came to an end in Game 6, in a 23-point loss at Madison Square Garden. Paul could only watch from the bench as the Knicks struggled to find an identity without him in an elimination game against an opponent firing on all cylinders.

LeBron would go on to win his first championship as he led the Heat to a five-game victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals.

The Knicks entered the offseason with plenty of work to do, yet more determined than ever to find a path to victory.

***

“Grunwald knew two things after the playoffs,” said a source close to the team. “One: STAT was in decline, and was going to have to go, sooner or later; and two: they needed a true wing defender like they needed water.”

Grunwald first looked to San Antonio to inquire about the price of rookie wing Kawhi Leonard. 

“Kawhi wasn’t Kawhi at that point,” recalled the source. “Still, when Grunwald offered STAT for him, the Spurs laughed Glen off the phone.” 

Grunwald then focused all his attention on Plan B: his former target, Andre Iguodala. 

Iguodala was intrigued by D’Antoni’s vision for him as a playmaker who could run the offense in lineups both with and without Paul. However, to consummate the deal, the capped-out Knicks needed to facilitate a sign-and-trade.

Feeling strongly that Iguodala could be the bridge to genuine contention, Grunwald agreed to deal fan-favorite Jeremy Lin and an unprotected 2016 first round pick to the Sixers, and signed Iguodala to a four-year, $48 million deal.

“I felt like it was the end of an era: I had just graduated elementary school, and the Knicks traded Jeremy Lin,” lamented Pursiainen, wiping a tear from his cheek. “At the time I didn't understand why we had to give up Lin for Iggy.”

“I know why,” offered Oscar winning actor and Knicks super fan David Futernick. “Because Dolan saw how happy everybody was, and he said, ‘how can I ruin that?’”

Grunwald signed former Knick fan favorite Raymond Felton to fill the vacancy at backup point guard. He also brought back J.R. Smith, recognizing him as the only true shot-creator on the roster aside from Paul. 

Meanwhile, across the East River, Carmelo’s Brooklyn Nets also looked to make a big splash after missing the playoffs. In a morose press conference after the last game of the season, Melo acknowledged he knew it would be a “rebuilding year,” and that he was looking forward to the improvements the front office would make that summer.

The Nets’ major offseason improvement was to acquire “Iso” Joe Johnson. They marketed the star duo as “the two best pure hoopers in the league.” The organization papered Fort Greene and surrounding neighborhoods with billboards featuring their new slogan: “BROOKLYN BUCKETS” above a trio of Johnson, Melo, and deceased rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The Nets were universally panned for completely forgetting to include the young, promising, 20-point-per-game scoring center Brook Lopez instead of ODB in their marketing push.

Back in Manhattan, the Knicks were excited to begin the 2012-13 season with their new starting five of Paul, Thompson, Iguodala, STAT, and Chandler.

However, disaster struck almost immediately when they lost STAT to a mysterious knee injury. The team would not see Stoudemire on the court again until March.

The Knicks still felt that they could win without Stoudemire, and plowed forward. Three weeks into the season, though, it was clear Paul’s hamstring was still ailing him. He appeared sluggish, averaging career lows in assists, points, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. He was unable to get separation from defenders, and was a liability on defense.

The team tried to manage things by resting Paul on the second night of back-to-backs. Even with the additional precautions, Paul struggled to get his legs under him. With the Knicks stumbling to a 13-17 record through their first 30 games, New York announced he would miss four weeks with a hamstring strain.

In his absence, Iguodala and Klay Thompson formed a formidable on-court partnership. The two switched interchangeably on defense, and on the other end, Iggy reveled in finding Klay beyond the arc for open triples. 

In particular, Klay’s development accelerated in Paul’s absence out of sheer necessity. In one thrilling contest, Thompson went shot for shot with Golden State’s Steph Curry, with Curry lighting the Garden up for 54 points and 11 threes to Klay’s 33 points and nine threes in an ultimate victory for the Knicks.

However, the Knicks’ talent deficit without Paul was clear in their regular season matchups against the Heat. Though Iguodala proved his worth as a serviceable LeBron impediment — turning half court possessions into bar fights — the Knicks didn’t have enough firepower without Paul or STAT, and three of four regular season games easily went to Miami. The Big Apple’s only win came late in the season when Paul, who had just recently returned from rehab, caught fire down the stretch, scoring 18 points in the final five minutes.

It was clear that, LeBron Stopper or no, without a healthy Chris Paul, the Knicks had no hope against The Heatles. 

Indeed, by February, the Knicks’ front office had been questioning the playoff viability of the team for months. When the trade deadline came and Knicks GM Glen Grunwald stood pat, opting not to trade future assets for improvements on the margins, he sent a clear message: this is not our year.

“Glen didn’t agonize over the decision not to make a real push,” one insider told us. “But there was anxiety at the top, particularly with Paul’s free agency decision looming.”

Although the Knicks finished the year with the No. 8 seed, they were matched up once more with No. 1-seeded Heat. While Paul and STAT were available to play, it was clear from the first game that neither were near their best, and after a demoralizing 17-point loss in Game 1 in Miami, in Game 2, Paul succumbed to yet another hamstring strain, and the Knicks lost him for the rest of the series. 

The Heat swept. Miami would go on to repeat as champions over the Tim Duncan-led Spurs.

Knicks owner James Dolan lamented the season lost to injury, acutely anxious over the Knicks’ chances of re-signing Paul during free agency. In a private conversation immediately scooped by Marc Berman of the New York Post, Dolan told Coach D’Antoni and GM Grunwald that if they did not retain Paul that summer, they “would never set foot in MSG again.”

“Yeah,” one source said. “That’s Jim for you.”

Paul had to do some soul-searching of his own. Was staying with the Knicks truly his best chance at a championship?

There was speculation that CP3 could join the Spurs and form a fresh super team with ascendant superstar Kawhi Leonard and wizened future Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan. The Spurs had already pushed the Heat the distance in the Finals; they were a team that, in theory, Paul could help get over the hump to finally foil the South Beach superstars.

Spurs President of Basketball Operations and head coach Gregg Popovich even phoned the Point God and pitched him on the vision: Leave the Knicks. Lead the Spurs. Chase a ring. Form a dynasty in Texas.

“Chris had one foot out the door,” said a source close to Paul. “That is, until Melo called.”

***

It was no secret that Carmelo’s “homecoming” in Brooklyn had not gone according to plan. His year with Iso Joe had been likened to two players taking turns going one-on-five.

The Nets did finish above the Knicks in the standings, emerging from the season with the No. 7 seed, but their own playoff series was possibly even less competitive than their crosstown counterparts. Tom Thibodeau’s gritty Bulls team, missing former MVP Derrick Rose as well as starting swingman Luol Deng, sent Carmelo and the Nets home in four games, including a 14-point, 12-assist, 17-rebound, 4-block tour de force from Joakim Noah to close them out.

In his last press conference of the postseason, Carmelo’s angst was apparent. “It’s been two-and-a-half years,” he said in a quavering voice. “You see the Bulls out there, you see the Heat. What’s our realistic path to competing in the East?”

Carmelo’s words silenced the press room, and chilled Nets GM Billy King. Melo’s player option was looming, and King knew he had to do something big to placate his disgruntled star.

Shortly after the press conference, Carmelo informed King he would be declining his player option, but would give strong consideration to returning to the Nets on a multiyear deal. 

“Melo made it clear that if he was going to come back to the Nets, Billy had to acquire stars that summer,” said a source close to Anthony. “Not ‘star,’ singular. ‘Stars,’ plural.”

While Carmelo vacationed on the island of Anguilla, King nervously canvassed the league for available stars. After weeks of hard research and many anxious phone conversations, King finally found what he thought was the right deal.

Carmelo was sunbathing on the beach when his phone began to buzz. Grumbling, he pulled down his sunglasses and glanced at the screen.

The Nets had traded their 2014, 2016, and 2018 first round picks, among other assets, to Boston for 37-year-old Kevin Garnett and 36-year-old Paul Pierce. Carmelo’s heart sank. Carmelo knew Billy had made his major move and acquired the “stars” Melo asked for; he also knew it wasn’t enough to topple Miami.

He sighed and took a moment to gather himself. He looked at the ocean, then the sky, then back down at his phone.

Then he dialed Chris Paul.

***

For the two superstars, it was immediately clear where they wanted to team up: to add Carmelo to the Knicks’ existing core would create a bona fide super team, one that could surely go toe-to-toe with the Heat, and any other team that might challenge them.

Yet this would require complex mechanics and many moving pieces, not to mention the cooperation of Grunwald, the soon-to-be-jilted King, and possibly a third team.

Paul and Anthony immediately enlisted their mutual agent, Leon Rose, to help guide the blockbuster deal to the finish line.

“Leon is a straight shooter,” Bobby Marks, an Assistant GM to King in his time with the Nets, told The Strickland when recalling the deal recently, his face etched with pain. “We told him we respected that Carmelo wanted to leave, but we had just gone all-in on this Garnett/Pierce deal. We couldn’t just go right back to rebuild after trading all our draft picks.” Marks briefly winced before continuing: 

“Leon told us we had two options: one, Melo could leave for nothing, or two, he could help us replace Melo with another star, one from his own client list, one that could help lead the Garnett/Pierce core back into the playoffs the very next year.”

Though CAA super agent Leon Rose is notoriously low-profile, it is believed he was the mastermind behind the blockbuster trade that sent Carmelo to the Knicks, Amar’e Stoudemire and draft compensation to the Toronto Raptors, and Andrea Bargnani to the Brooklyn Nets.

While Carmelo's homecoming felt like destiny, it came with anxiety. In the deal, Anthony picked up his one-year player option; Paul also inked a one-year deal with the Knicks, synchronizing the two stars’ free agencies the following summer.

It was tacitly understood that if the Knicks did not win it all that year, likely both Paul and Melo would seriously test the waters of free agency.

Having sent the the Raptors an unprotected 2018 first round draft pick in the Carmelo/Bargnani trade, the Sixers an unprotected 2016 draft pick in the Iguodala trade, and the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) a 2014 pick swap in the initial Chris Paul trade, if Paul and Anthony left, the Knicks would be looking at a painful rebuild without much of their own draft capital.

But the Knicks could not think of their tremendous risk now: they had a job to do. 

Their eyes were fixed on a championship.

***

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this Knicktion next week to see the stunning conclusion!