When it comes to Carmelo Anthony I’ve been on the neutral end of his career. I’ve always been a fan but always criticized his career and milestones and wondered if he would ever be an NBA champion. In his recent interview on First Take he made a lot of sense and felt some type of way because I’ve been through a similar situation.
He’s right; his departure from Houston was bigger than basketball and management clearly didn’t think about him as a person through all of this. If they intended to sign him on a 10-day contract then at least notify Melo.
The bigger picture to this situation is that as hard as it was for Melo to accept his role and come off the bench, Melo chose to put his pride aside and move forward. Weren’t we always told growing up that we need to sacrifice in order to win a championship? I can hear my coach’s speech on repeat in my head: “In order to win we need to sacrifice, treat the person beside you as your brother and accept your role”. Unfortunately in Melo’s case that all went out the window on November 8th of this year.
To be told that he wouldn’t even make their 9 player rotation blows my mind. His scoring alone could of helped him them out in late game situations or have a huge benefit in coming off the bench.
One of the best scorers in NBA history told he wouldn’t make the rotation. Ha.
No athlete wants to be face with that question of “Can I still play?” Now we see a Melo who is lacking confidence, having doubts, and nervous that he won’t even have an opportunity to make a roster this season
Yes, Melo is a great Iso Scorer but what else is he good at ? Do championship contending teams need someone who can score in an isolation setting ? Probably not many considering they all have their respective stars who can iso score and create for others.
Melo’s lackluster defense and one dimensional skill set are the main reasons why he sees himself without a job. Do I think he can make an NBA team right now ? Absolutely. The harsh reality of it is the NBA is changing and Melo hasn’t adapted the way teams want him to.
Here’s where I feel for him. The fact that he was kept in the dark about a lot of business conversations that were held in Houston under Melo’s nose is uncalled for.
How open Melo was in the interview however might hurt him moving forward.
I hope he finds a team to play with because now we have a Melo we’ve never seen before and that’s one who is willing to accept his role and do whatever it takes to keep playing the game he loves. That is rare to see.