Carmelo Anthony and Danilo Gallinari. Photo Credit: Nugg Love

Danilo Gallinari spoke with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about the posibility of the young Knicks. Press Play Below To Listen.

The 2017-18 NBA season began with rivalry week. On Tuesday, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the new-look Boston Celtics and James’ old teammate, Kyrie Irving.

On Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Carmelo Anthony got the win against his former New York Knicks.

Anthony was shipped to the Knicks in a blockbuster trade in 2011. In that trade, the Knicks sent Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and three draft picks to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Anthony, Chauncey Billups and Anthony Carter.

After that trade, the Knicks went 207-269, won only one of four playoff series and missed the postseason each of the past four years.

Years later, the trade makes you wonder: what if?

What if the Knicks hadn’t traded for Anthony and kept a Mike D’Antoni team that had a young core in Amare Stoudemire, J.R. Smith, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Nate Robinson and others?

“Well sometimes we talk about it or we meet about it with Amare, Raymond and other players who were there at that time and say if we would have stayed together we could have built something special,”  Danilo Gallinari told me on Scoop B Radio.

 “So that’s what we say.”

Gallinari, now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, was drafted 6th overall in the 2008 draft by the Knicks. He had some good games while a member of the orange of blue, like the time he scored 17 points against the Atlanta Hawks on 4-5 shooting from downtown.

Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and Raymond Felton were part of a young Knicks core. Photo Credit: New York Daily News

There was also that Halloween game in 2009 where he it rained three pointers; eight to be exact. Galo poured in a season high 30 points in the overtime loss and was one triple away from tying a Knicks franchise record held by both Latrell Sprewell and John Starks. The dude was official like a ref with a whistle, he just dealt with substantial injuries.

Nonetheless, his jumper was and still is lethal!

As for the what could have been the Knicks, all we can wonder is what if?

“Yeah, we had a very good chemistry going on,” said Gallinari.

“Especially a few weeks before the trade, we were doing really well. But you know, that’s in the past now.”

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Danilo Gallinari believes Knicks could have ‘built something special’ if he wasn’t traded for Carmelo Anthony appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The Knicks’ 90s glory days are long-gone. The club has just three winning seasons in the past 16 years. At 27-42, the Knicks stand at 12th in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. After the loss to the Nets last night at MSG, they officially clinched their fourth consecutive losing season. Man oh man, the ’90s Knicks were a team that New York City still holds in high regard and misses. John Starks, Charles Oakley, the late Anthony Mason, Doc Rivers and of course, Patrick Ewing.

Ewing played 17 years in the NBA, 15 of those as a Knick before he was traded to the Seattle Supersonics for Vin Baker. Ewing finished his career averaging 21 points and a shade under 10 rebounds per game. Ewing and the Knicks had some memorable moment. Lets see, there was the time in 1990 when the Hoya Destroya scored 51 points on Kevin McHale, Kevin McHale and Larry Bird at The Garden.  ​

Hey, remember Game 5 of the ’94 Finals when he pummeled Olajuwon, scored 25 points, 12 rebounds, and eight blocks on the Olajuwon-led Rockets. There was also that 22 points, 22 rebounds and 7 assist outing in game 7 of the 1994 NBA Playoff Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. That game sealed the deal and propelled the Knicks to the ’94 Finals against the Houston Rockets.

Simply put, Ewing was the man in N-Y-C.

Rapper, Pusha T thinks so too, apparently. Appearing on today’s episode of Scoop B Radio Overtime, the rapper who reps both NYC and Virginia to the fullest chatted about some of his all-time favorite sports uniforms. He likes the old Washington Bullets uniforms from the days of Wes Unseld. The Bullets, of course are now the Washington Wizards. The Wizards even retro’ed thos unifors a time or two when Michael Jordan made a brief cameo on that team. The team has even incorporated a similar design to their current uni’s to make it whole. Someone get Mitchell & Ness on the line! We need that Jordan Throwback.

But I digress.

The meat and potatoes of the interview with King Push was his admiration for that Knicks squad that were both hustle and muscle and the nostalgia of even Spike Lee donning the orange and blue fabric. “Definetly the Knicks, of course,” Pusha T told me.

“You gotta remember. For example, like, the Knicks, if I was messing with the Knicks, it was like there was a Ewing component to it. Or a Spike Lee Component to it. They were so culturally relevant at the time. They were champions of the team and they were like to me, cool guys! So I was like oh man, this is fresh. Anyrhing they put on was fresh. They were definetly representing the Knicks organization at that time.”

Spike Lee, like Jack Nicholson is probably the original super fan; the orginiator. His engagement with players is what stands out. Who can forget his classic duels with Reggie Miller?

The new Knicks are nothing worth watching, but the nostalgia of the old Knicks, still lives on.

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Pusha T on Patrick Ewing, Spike Lee & 90s Knicks: “They were so culturally relevant at the time” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.