When LeBron James returned to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, his eyes were firmly set on winning a championship. But in his first season back, he lost to the Golden State Warriors. In that run to the Finals, he had two players join over from his friend Carmelo Anthony‘s team.
The Cavaliers traded for JR Smith and Iman Shumpert before the 2014-15 trade deadline. They came over from the New York Knicks where Anthony was also bidding to win an NBA title himself. At the time, Anthony was creating a team around him for that push.
But that trade made more sense to the Cavaliers than for the Knicks. The New York franchise did not receive equal returns for an NBA title push of their own. Carmelo Anthony knowing all too well how it would impact them went on to reveal how he reacted.
I could use Shump and JR to go win a championship. I’m like, ‘You do not touch this nucleus right here. I don’t give a f**k what you do’. I said, ‘Do you know what the f**k you did? Y’all gonna send them to him? We’re building to go against this. Y’all don’t give a f**k about me. This s**t is nasty’.
Carmelo Anthony on 7PM in Brooklyn
This he revealed while speaking with Shumpert on the podcast 7PM in Brooklyn. Shumpert recalled that when Anthony heard of the news, he took his rage out in the locker room. All they heard was loud sounds of things breaking and water splashing around.
“Do y’all know what the f**k you just did? Y’all gon’ send them to him?!”
Melo was HOT when the Knicks sent Shump & JR Smith to team up with Bron. pic.twitter.com/OVzKyDl3ZD
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) November 26, 2024
That reaction was warranted as the now retired All-NBA great knew all too well that those two complimentary pieces would help LeBron James win a title. His logic proved right when James with support from those two won his third title.
LeBron James winning that title meant Carmelo Anthony could never
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA title with solid contributions from Iman Shumpert and JR Smith. Shumpert’s perimeter defense and Smith’s scoring gave the Cavaliers that extra edge.
But it also meant that the New York Knicks stunted their growth as a playoff team. The first three seasons Anthony was there, the franchise reached the playoffs. But the following 2013-14 season saw them miss out on a playoff berth.
That prompted the franchise to hire legendary coach Phil Jackson as their President. He initiated that trade that sent those two players to the Cavaliers. But that move ended up stunting the Knicks as they failed to make the playoffs for the remainder of the time Anthony was there.
The superstar left the team due to his conflicts with Phil Jackson and went on to play for other teams. But he was on the decline and did not make an All-Star team since. He also wound up not winning a championship and eventually retired.
