A wide majority of NBA media, pundits and fans alike are in virtual agreeance that the departure of Carmelo Anthony from the Oklahoma City Thunder was a positive for the team.

Anthony finished with career-low numbers in points (16.2), assists (1.3), field goal percentage (40.4) and free-throw percentage (76.7) last season and laid an egg in the playoffs after averaging only 11.8 points in six games played.

Subtraction by addition was a theme for the Thunder this offseason as they were more than happy to get rid of Melo in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Dennis Schroder and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.

The trade was widely seen as a cost-cutting move, as it saved the Thunder tens of millions of dollars in combined salary and luxury tax payments.

However, one Thunder star doesn’t see it that way.

Paul George was asked by Royce Young of ESPN after practice on Tuesday if Melo’s absence was beneficial for him and Russell Westbrook and George didn’t quite agree.

“No. I mean, we had a short stint together so who knows, this year could have been our year. We were trying to learn things on the fly last year. It was a learning experience for everybody. “We could’ve very well been a different team coming into this year, knowing that we’ve had a year under our belt. We know what works, what didn’t work for us and we worked through that. So, you never know.”

Paul George asked if Carmelo Anthony being elsewhere could be beneficial for he and Russell Westbrook this season: “No. I mean, we had a short stint together so who knows, this year could’ve been our year.” pic.twitter.com/IJrFTuqsHa — Royce Young (@royceyoung) October 2, 2018

While this might be the politically correct way answer to the question, P.G.’s belief that Melo was a positive on their roster is an interesting thought given all the advanced analytics saying otherwise.

While one year with a new team (and two new stars) is potentially too small of a sample size to judge, it became patently obvious as the season went on the Melo was not the answer.

Brought on to be the shooter that the Thunder desperately needed (17th in offensive rating in 2016-17) coming into the 2017-18 season, Melo shot only 35.7 percent from three last season.

Brought on for his experience and potential spot-up scoring ability, Melo laughed when he was asked about taking a step back for the team and struggled all season with his shot.

Rodger Sherman of The Ringer wrote about the failed Melo experiment in May:

“After observing Anthony this season, we have to acknowledge that his career is nearing its end. Joining Westbrook and George in Oklahoma City was perhaps his best opportunity to fill the role in which he was historically most successful, and it didn’t work. In fact, it didn’t come all that close.”

It’s not hard to see that giving Melo another year in Oklahoma City was not the answer. While P.G. was jammed a little with the question and gave the non-controversial answer, it’s interesting to see the positivity on Melo’s second year potential with the Thunder.

Hopefully, this trade doesn’t come back to bite the Thunder come playoff time if Russ, P.G. and company play the Houston Rockets.