OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Russell Westbrook and Paul George were teammates for nearly three months before Carmelo Anthony finally blessed the capital of Oklahoma as a destination worthy of waiving his no-trade clause.
The mere opportunity to team up with Westbrook and George and form a potential Superteam, as they’re known in the modern N.B.A., wasn’t enough for immediate acceptance. Nor was the secret-weapon recruiting presence of the Thunder assistant general manager Troy Weaver, who had helped Anthony land at Syracuse University as a teenager.
In an interview with The New York Times this week, during a break from preparations for his Thunder debut, Anthony revealed that he needed one more nudge before telling the Knicks last month that, yes, he was prepared to be traded to Oklahoma City.