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Melo happy with Knicks' offseason: 'We have a very special team on paper'

Noah K. Murray / USA TODAY Sports

Whatever becomes of the revamped New York Knicks this coming season, let it not be said that the front office sat on its hands.

Team president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills were proactive and bold, specifically in swinging a trade for former MVP Derrick Rose and signing former Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah to a four-year deal.

What Rose and Noah can bring to the team at this point is unknown, given their declining production and extensive injury histories, but star forward Carmelo Anthony is happy with the moves, and feels the Knicks are a playoff team.

"The front office stepped up," Anthony told reporters Monday in Las Vegas, where he's practicing with Team USA in preparation for the Rio Olympics. "It was a collective effort. They did their job."

Even if the Knicks' new starry-named additions can't recapture their old shine, the team could still be poised to crack the postseason for the first time in four years, so long as Anthony stays healthy and sophomore big man Kristaps Porzingis builds on his excellent rookie season.

"We have a very special team on paper," Anthony said.

But the game isn't played on paper, as everyone knows, and the challenge of ending the Knicks' playoff drought will ultimately fall more on Anthony's shoulders than anyone's.

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