Happy anniversary, Danilo Gallinari trade — I mean, Carmelo Anthony trade.

The one-year anniversary of the blockbuster trade that sent Anthony and four other Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks in exchange for Gallinari and three other players is here. And as an anniversary gift, I would like to thank the Knicks for making the Denver Nuggets better.

When the Nuggets made the trade, they got young and talented players.

Gallinari is showing that he has the talent to be a superstar. Wilson Chandler made an impact on this roster and Timofey Mozgov is showing his potential. Plus, Raymond Felton was given up to bring in Andre Miller on draft night. It looks like the Nuggets have the pieces in place to be a solid team moving forward.

As for the Knicks, they got Anthony and that was it. The other players in that trade are gone.

Although both teams made the playoffs and lost in the first round last year, the Nuggets showed more potential against a better team. The Nuggets lost in five games to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that was one bad quarter away from representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics swept the Knicks.

Flash forward to this season. Although the Nuggets are an average 18-15 as of Feb. 21, they have been plagued by injuries. Gallinari has bone chips in his ankle and Mozgov is recovering from a sprained ankle.

Although the Knicks have injuries, too, they lack depth off the bench. The Knicks record is a below average 16-17 as of Feb. 21, and the only reason why they are around the .500 mark is because of Jeremy Lin, who is making the word “Linsanity” sound catchy.

Bottom line: The Nuggets got the better deal. They score more points than the Knicks, get more assists than the Knicks and play better defense than the Knicks.

Tags: Denver, Knicks, Melo, Nuggets, trade

People: Andre Miller, Carmelo Anthony, Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, Wilson Chandler