A major reason it was/is so vital to get Anthony is because of our 'championship window', or 'contender window'.
It hinges upon our prized FA -- Amare. Who is almost 28 (might be already even).
We don't really have the luxury of slowly building for years. If we do, by the time our current players peak and we do secure a star, the big time players we had (Amare, eg) will be on the wrong side of 30 and just as we peaked on paper, our peak will have a downward trend due to age/time.
If we whiff again and miss out on Anthony, the implications put a huge amount of pressure on finding a way to trade/sign, say, CP3...Howard.
I'd prolly try to pry Noah away after this year and just pray and throw the kitchen sink after getting CP3/Deron.