Carmelo Anthony Admits Playing With Westbrook, George Were 'Big Part' in Choosing OKC
Carmelo Anthony admits that the vision of playing with Russell Westbrook and Paul George was a huge reason for him to choose the Oklahoma City Thunder as his new team.
Anthony arrived at OKC on Sunday and was greeted with hundreds of fans chanting his name – an act of welcome the player obviously needed after the painstaking trade talks he experienced for months back in New York.
In the weeks prior to the OKC-Knicks trade, reports were rife that Anthony was originally looking forward to being transferred to the Houston Rockets. However, negotiations with the latter were halted shortly after the major reorganization of the New York front office took place.
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Then, the Knicks management reportedly asked Anthony to come up with a list of other teams he would consider waiving his no-trade clause for, and obviously, the Thunder was included in it.
During media day on Monday, the press asked if the OKC frontrunner and the NBA's 2016 Most Valuable Player, Westbrook, did anything to convince him.
Anthony jokingly replied (via ESPN): "Russ don't really do the convincing."
The player then narrated that Westbrook visited him in New York "and played pickup at my gym."
"Me and Russ became closer and closer over the years. He was a big part, he was a big reason why I wanted to come here. To see his loyalty to the city, to this organization, what he was able to do on the court -- I wanted to be a part of that," Anthony added.
The player also admitted that the addition of George to the OKC roster gave him more reason to choose the team. Anthony said: "Our relationship, our friendship, our respect for one another as basketball players was the reason that I wanted to play alongside him and have an opportunity to compete for a championship."
Anthony also mentioned that the fact that he, Westbrook, and George all have yet to win a championship is just the motivation they need to make it their "ultimate goal."
As for his former team, Anthony is confident that New York fans will understand why he had to leave the city and that it was a "career decision." He also assured the press that he feels "no bad blood" for anyone part of his former organization.
