By Larry Fine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carmelo Anthony, decked out in his New York Knicks orange and blue warm-up suit carrying the lucky number seven, said he could scarcely believe his homecoming had arrived Wednesday.
"I feel like I'm still dreaming right now," the high-scoring forward, acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Denver Nuggets, told reporters at a news conference before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
"I'm excited, man. I'm in one of the best places in the world, New York City. I'm about to go upstairs and play my first basketball game as a New York Knick in one of the best arenas in the world. I'm excited about that."
The native New Yorker, key man in a nine-player deal with Denver, averaged 25.2 points a game this season for the Nuggets, fifth best in the NBA.
Sitting alongside point guard Chauncey Billups, the other key player coming to New York from Denver, Anthony said it would be time to snap to attention once he hit the Madison Square Garden floor.
"I know we got to gel, get our chemistry down. We gotta roll. It starts now," the 26-year-old Anthony said. "It's a dream come true for me and I'm ready to rock."
The Knicks (28-26) sent a package including guard Raymond Felton (averaging 17.1 points) as well as forwards Wilson Chandler (16.4) and Danilo Gallinari (15.9) to the Nuggets to pair Anthony with high-scoring power forward Amar'e Stoudemire, averaging 26.1 points for the league's third-best figure.
Billups, 34, said fitting in to the fast-paced style played by the Knicks should not be difficult.
"The system we just came from is kind of up-and-down (the court), fast paced," he said.
"The experience we both have playing at a very high level, being deep in the playoffs before ... our experience is going to help this team.
"We come with very high expectations and we look forward to the challenge."
"As the point guard, I've got to learn tendencies of all the players and what the coach wants," Billups said. "It's a difficult challenge, but I'll be fine. I've done it before. I'll be good to go."
Anthony said there was not much room for patience given there were just 28 games left in the season.
"Our main goal is to get to the playoffs. Once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen."
(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Nick Mulvenney)
