How Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti succeeded in converting a pair of rotation players in Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott and a future draft pick that really isn’t worth a lot into a bonafide superstar (Yes ESPN, he is) in Carmelo Anthony has left many in awe.
But as it turns out, Presti’s magic wand didn’t do all the work. As Adrian Wojnarowksi has reported, Russell Westbrook and Paul George also had a hand in pulling off the trade.
Russell Westbrook and Paul George played an immense part in getting Anthony to waive no-trade for OKC, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 23, 2017
For all the havoc he wreaked on the court last season, Westbrook knew he couldn’t carry the Thunder into winning the franchise’s first NBA title alone. Presti got Westbrook Paul George in July, but in the dog-eat-dog world of the Western Conference, that still didn’t look enough for Oklahoma City to topple the Golden State Warriors.
The arrival of Anthony to the Thunder’s mix gives the team a trio of lethal scorers, who may have to work some of the kinks early in the season but once they eventually develop chemistry, the group is going to be a handful for any team. Whether they do develop chemistry is for a different discussion to dissect, but adding Anthony should make Oklahoma City a much better group than the one Kevin Durant had fun beating last season.
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