The meteoric rise of Tyrese Haliburton on the Indiana Pacers in recent times has been a sight to behold for NBA fans. Years before his emergence though, Carmelo Anthony had spotted the potential in the point guard. The 10x All-Star was so impressed that he even requested his beloved New York Knicks franchise to draft the Milwaukee-born. In the pilot episode of 7PMin Brooklyn, Melo reflected on that period as he identified Tyrese as a top young talent in the league.
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“Haliburton would be somebody that I always like,” Anthony stated while praising the qualities of the 23-year-old. The former small forward had spotted the match-defining qualities in Haliburton long back as he begged the Knicks to pick him in the 2020 NBA draft. Carmelo mentioned, “I was trying to get him with the Knicks years ago like, ‘Yo, draft him. Please draft, like please'”.
Interestingly, during that period, Anthony was representing the Portland Trail Blazers. Yet, he voiced his opinion in the best interest of his former employers. “I wasn’t even on the Knicks but, ”Yo y’all better draft him. Y’all need him,” he highlighted.
The organization still went in a different direction as they utilized their eighth overall pick to select Obi Toppin in the first round. Tyrese had to wait a little longer for his opportunity before the Sacramento Kings drafted him as the twelfth overall pick. Just one and a half years after that, the franchise traded him to the Pacers in February 2022.
The Knicks since then have had to pay a hefty price for not listening to one of their former stars. On one hand, Haliburton is 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.
The New York Knicks had another well-wisher alongside Carmelo Anthony
In a recent episode of ‘First Take’, Stephen A. Smith shed light on how he personally called the Knicks members to draft the 6’5 star. “I was arguing with them, ‘Draft Haliburton,'” he mentioned on live television highlighting his admiration for the player. Yet, the New York franchise went ahead with their plan, eventually disappointing Melo and Stephen A.
That move added to a long list of fumbles by the organization’s higher management in recent years. A few seasons back, they failed to acquire Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as the duo joined the Knicks’ direct rivals, the Brooklyn Nets. “The New York Knicks have lost New York to the Brooklyn Nets,” Smith had declared on that occasion. It seemed to have remained true since then.
The big market franchise has failed time and time again to turn its fortune around. Their actions for the betterment of the team have produced more missed opportunities than positive outcomes. Still, the Knicks fans continue to believe, hoping to not see a repeat of the past mistakes.
