George Karl is glad that the Nuggets can focus on basketball now that the Carmelo Anthony saga is over, but he admitted Tuesday night that the trade of Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the Knicks was an emotional one.
"I can't deny that when the trade went down last night, I was kind of more sad than happy," Karl said. "I think most of that sadness was because of Chauncey -- and [Anthony Carter] a little bit, too."
Denver could have lost Anthony in free agency this coming summer without getting anything in return. That led Karl to praise the new front office team of Masai Ujiri and Josh Kroenke, saying they "hit a home run the first time up."
"I think they did a great job," Karl said. "And the kitchen got hot. The kitchen got hot and they did a great job of keeping their composure and direction. I think they get philosophically what they want and we get philosophically what we want as a coaching staff. So, it's a win-win. And I think it's a win-win for the Knicks, too. So, I think Donnie Walsh and Mark Warkentien in a strange way, we all I think worked the dynamics of a very difficult situation into a win-win."