WE ARE BACK!!!!!!

Those are the words I texted to my brother and friends immediately after hearing that the Knicks closed the deal for Carmelo Anthony today.

Jubilation is the emotion that I felt.

I'm not sure what percentage of New Yorkers I speak for, but I can finally say that there is a sense of optimism and excitement for basketball in this city, which has been missing for a long, long time.

"We got Carmelo!" were the words I spoke to any and everyone I saw at work - even those that may not follow basketball.

"The Knicks are back" were the words Amar'e Stoudemire said after introduced for the first time as a knick. Those were words I met with skepticism. Even with the improvement they showed before the All-Star break, we weren't really back - unless you mean back from the abyss and showing a pulse.
But with this move that statement is undeniable.

And you know what? Amar'e is the real hero in all of this. He came here first by himself. He brought his swag and single handedly changed the culture of Knicks basketball - in half a season. He is the one that said right after he signed, he could get other stars like Carmelo to come. Dude wasn't lying.

I have already mentioned in my previous post why this trade was a necessity. But still there are those that think we gave up too much or could have played our cards better and got him for less.

Stop it.

This wasn't the time to get cute or greedy.
We traded Chandler, Galo, and Mozgov for Melo......that is not too much.
There is a reason why Carmelo is one of only three players in the picture on the top of this blog.

We did this for our past, our present, and our future.

I personally have never been alive to see the knicks have two bona fide super stars. The closest maybe was the '99 team that had Sprewell and Houston, and of course an aged Ewing. We lost out on a championship that season because of Ewing's injury in the playoffs. But even then, this is different. It is not out of line to say we now have two of the ten best players in the NBA on our team!

And after all we as knicks fans have been though,

WE DESERVE THIS

Can you tell how excited I am?
I'll settle down. And we'll all come back to reality. And the new-new look Knicks will need time to mesh.

But, we are better today.
In a year, or less, we'll be even better.
And in the summer of 2012, if not sooner, we will become championship contenders.