As the lockout continues and forces the cancelation of regular season games, Carmelo Anthony's aggressive strategy to end up with the Knicks and with a new contract has proven to be the prudent decision.

“I think I did the right thing,” Anthony told reporters Wednesday.

Donnie Walsh was reluctant to acquire Anthony due to the trade demands of the Nuggets and because the Knicks would have had an opportunity to sign him outright in free agency during the 2011 offseason.

The Knicks eventually traded for Anthony while signing him to a three-year, $65 million contract that won't be subjected to roll-backs.

“For the average person out there who really thought I was just trying to get up and just leave for no reason, that really was a big key in my decision,” Anthony said about the lockout. “I knew free agency was coming, I knew it would be altered, I knew it’d be messed up, so imagine if I’d have stayed. I’d have been a free agent now in limbo.”

Kenyon Martin signed a $3.65 million contract in China, something he is at peace with.

“I’m a grown man. Nobody is forcing me to do it,” Martin said of his decision. “I don’t need the money. It ain’t about the money. The money is great, but I don’t need it.

“I know the situation. I know there is a possibility that the lockout could end soon. There is a possibility it can’t. No one knows.”

Martin was interested in signing a contract extension with the Nuggets last season, but was never made an offer. 

Denver has seen Martin, Wilson Chandler and J.R. Smith sign in China.

“That’s their problem,” Martin said of the Nuggets’ free-agent challenges. “They made that bed. Guess what? Let them lie in it. I had some good times. I enjoyed my seven years. I enjoyed the Denver fans. But they made the decision.”