ORLANDO, Fla. — Outspoken Magic coach Stan Van Gundy unintentionally took a shot at former Knicks center Timofey Mozgov of Russia yesterday during a rant about the Carmelo Anthony blockbuster.
Van Gundy was defending the Knicks’ decision to give up all the pieces they did in the trade for Anthony and Chauncey Billups, incredulous that fans, media and the front office nearly blew up the deal by not adding Mozgov, the 7-foot-1 rookie.
“I always look at trades like this: It usually comes down to who gets the best player, in my mind,” Van Gundy said before the Knicks’ 116-110 loss to the Magic last night. “New York got the two best players in the trade. I love [Danilo] Gallinari, [Raymond] Felton and [Wilson] Chandler. I thought Raymond was playing great.
“But it was a little bit funny to me all the consternation at the end was over Mozgov,” Van Gundy added. “No, really. You can’t throw him in? The guy’s a good young player, but when you’re getting Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony? If you’re telling me you can’t throw in Chandler, or you can’t throw in Gallinari, I at least would understand the thought process. But if we don’t give up Mozgov, we’ll be OK? I was a little taken aback by that one.”
The Knicks were initially firm in their refusal to give up the fan favorite Mozgov, according to sources, but realized the Nuggets would have traded Anthony to the Nets had they not ponied up yet another young asset and the lone center on their roster. The Knicks still don’t have a 7-footer after signing 6-foot-10 Jared Jeffries and 6-foot-8 Derrick Brown yesterday.
Anthony was willing to sign a contract extension if the Nuggets favored the Nets’ deal.
The recent clamor among coaches and executives is how Billups became overshadowed in the deal.
“They got two great veteran players,” Van Gundy said. “The guys they gave up were good players. Denver did a good job of getting good players, but it seems to be New York made a great deal. They got the two best players in the trade. There’s not too many times you can do that.”