Carmelo Anthony Should Get ‘Respect He Deserves’ Says Former Knicks Teammate Lance Thomas

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Carmelo Anthony is looking for a new team and that can happen as soon as Saturday when he is officially eligible to be traded.

Count one former teammate who is looking forward to that happening: New York Knicks forward, Lance Thomas.

Currently the longest tenured Knick, Thomas is pulling for Melo. “I would just love for him to get the respect he deserves,” Lance Thomas told me on Monday at his Holiday Sneaker Drive that both he and Damyean Dotson hosted at Sneakersnstuff on 12th Street in Manhattan.

“He’s a great player, he’s a great teammate, most importantly he’s a great human being and he’s always been a great advocate for the NBA as a brand. So I just want him to get back on a team and play the sport he loves that’s paved a way for him and his family, and he just loves to play basketball, so I really want him back on a team.”

The third overall pick in the 2003 draft, Anthony’s last appearance with the Houston Rockets came in a blowout loss to Oklahoma City on Nov. 8 when he had two points and five rebounds.

Anthony, has averaged 24 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 assists in his career with both the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets.

Many pundits argue that Anthony is getting older and can’t do what he used to do. Thomas refutes that claim. “Everybody’s getting older, but I don’t know why he gets a bad knock,” he told me.

“I mean, a lot of those people who give him a bad rep were never on his team, they’ve never seen how he works. They don’t know how great of a person he is. Melo’s playing in the biggest market in the world, so critics aren’t going to bother him, he’s shown that here and throughout his career, so he’ll be back soon.”

A ten-time NBA All Star, Anthony signed with the Houston Rockets this summer after clearing waivers in the trade that shipped him from the Oklahoma City Thunder the Atlanta Hawks. Thomas believes that anyone getting Melo would be honestly be getting a gem. “Melo’s a scorer, man,” he said.

“So any team that needs an offensive push, why not put one of the best scorers of all-time on there?”