Carmelo Anthony Asked Knicks To Draft Tyrese Haliburton Over Obi Toppin In 2020

Carmelo Anthony said that he attempted to acquire the burgeoning superstar on the New York Knicks at the 2020 NBA draft, as Tyrese Haliburton gets ready to guide the Indiana Pacers into the semifinals of the NBA’s in-season tournament on Thursday.

Carmelo Anthony had seen the point guard’s talent years before he made his breakthrough, though. The 10-time All-Star was so pleased that he asked the Milwaukee native to be drafted by his beloved New York Knicks team.

Carmelo Anthony Asked the Knicks To Draft Tyrese Haliburton Over Obi Toppin In 2020

Three years ago, Anthony said he was “trying” to get the Knicks to choose Haliburton on 7 PM in Brooklyn, which was presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment (starting at 36:25 mark).

“[Tyrese] Haliburton will be someone I always like,” Anthony said. “I was trying to get him with the Knicks years ago, saying ‘Please draft him, please!’ I wasn’t even on the Knicks but I was like y’all better draft him. Y’all need him! He’s really good man!”

Even yet, the organization chose a different path in the first round, selecting Obi Toppin with their eighth overall choice. Tyrese was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the twelfth overall choice, but he had to wait a bit longer for his chance. In February 2022, a mere 1.5 years later, the team moved him to the Pacers.

Since then, the Knicks have paid a heavy price for disregarding one of their former players. Haliburton is, on the one hand, averaging his career-best numbers this season while helping his team reach the final of the in-season tournament. Toppin, on the other hand, failed to even become an NBA starter before fascinatingly joining Tyrese in Indiana during the last off-season.

Anthony, who had just completed his first of two seasons with the Trail Blazers at the time of the 2020 NBA Draft, listed Jayson Tatum of the Celtics, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Malik Monk, and De’Aaron Fox among the current NBA players he loves watching as “guys that go get it.”

Since Toppin was born and raised in Brooklyn, the Knicks’ selection of him in the draft that year was initially viewed as a reunion with plenty of potential, especially considering that he had won the National Player of the Year title with Dayton in the previous year.

The Knicks president at the time, Leon Rose, stated in a statement, “Obi was someone we really coveted as one of the highest ranked players on our draft board.” “He’s an explosive athlete and  one of the most dynamic players in college basketball.”

From the way Anthony says it, it’s unclear if he was genuinely speaking to the Knicks or if he was attempting to make it happen via willpower. He signed a one-year contract with the Portland Trail Blazers four days after the 2020 draft, thus he wasn’t officially under contract when it happened.

With 17 starts this season, the 23-year-old has improved even more, averaging 26.9 points on 52.1 percent shooting and an NBA-high 11.9 assists per game. In Monday’s 122-112 victory over the Boston Celtics in the in-season tournament quarterfinals, he recorded a triple-double.

The Knicks are succeeding at point guard with Jalen Brunson, despite not acquiring Haliburton.

Why was Carmelo Anthony suspended from the NBA?

Carmelo Anthony expressed his happiness for Paul but expressed astonishment that the sanctions were not more severe. In December 2006, Anthony was suspended for 15 games for punching during a game. Anthony told The Undefeated, “I was like, cool, he’s back in two games after all of that.” He probably anticipated there would be more.

Did Carmelo Anthony retire from the NBA?

On Monday, Carmelo Anthony, a 10-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA pick, announced his formal retirement from the NBA. Anthony, who was selected third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, played in the league for 19 seasons before retiring as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017–18 season.

 

FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE- 

Former NFL Player DeSean Jackson Has High Ambitions: “ain’t satisfied with the NFL money”