Danilo Gallinari was starting to come into his own for the New York Knicks during the 2010-11 NBA season. The former lottery pick had steadily improved each year, averaging more than 15 points per game in three of his first four seasons and establishing himself as a core piece of the team’s future.
At 28-26 near the 2011 trade deadline, the Knicks were in playoff contention but eager to make a bold move. The Knicks would go on to trade for a then-26-year-old Carmelo Anthony to secure a young superstar for the foreseeable future in the Big Apple.
According to Gallinari, however, the decision to go all-in on Anthony did not come from the coaching staff or the GM. Instead, he believes someone higher up was the one who pulled the trigger on the deal.
Danilo Gallinari Says Knicks Owner James Dolan Made Carmelo Anthony Trade
Gallinari believes that Knicks owner James Dolan was the one who made the deal. Gallinari states that both the head coach and general manager did not want to trade him and change the core they had in New York.
Gallinari talks about how the team started to come together as the season went on.
“I’m playing well, we in New York, we winning, the city going crazy, we got paparazzi following us, something that I’ve never experienced in my life,” he saud. “I’m loving it, and I’m thinking, ‘okay, I’m gonna be a Knick for the next 10 years.’ GM is happy, the coach is happy, everybody’s happy.”
“I’m playing well, we in New York, we winning, City’s going crazy, we got paparazzi following us…GM, coach, everybody’s happy…Next thing you know the owner comes in…You’re out—Melo & Chauncey to the Knicks, 4 of the 5 Knicks starters in Denver. We out”
– Danilo Gallinari pic.twitter.com/4lCgtc7KVS
– New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 19, 2025
Gallinari then goes on to discuss the drama surrounding that 2011 trade deadline.
“The GM and the coach, they want to have a meeting with me,” he recalled. “‘We don’t want this trade, we want you here.’ Next thing you know, the owner comes in. ‘You are out.'”
The Knicks ultimately traded Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, Gallinari, two second-round picks, a first-round pick, a pick swap, and $3 million in cash to the Nuggets. In return, the Knicks received Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Renaldo Balkman.
The Knicks finished that season 42-40 and secured the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, only to be swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
Despite landing Anthony, the team never advanced past the second round during his tenure, and the franchise’s championship drought, which is now more than five decades long, remains one of the NBA’s longest.
Gallinari’s comments reflect a lingering impression shared by many Knicks fans: that key basketball decisions, including the blockbuster 2011 trade, were driven not by basketball minds, but by an owner with a history of emotional moves.
