Getty Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks falls into the crowd as he goes after a ball in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2017.
Carmelo Anthony hasn’t played basketball since November.
Will he play again?
“I hope so,” NBA Hall of Famer, Isiah Thomas tells NBA scribe, Landon Buford.
“Carmelo Anthony is one of my favorite people. He has been nothing but class and professional every time I have had any interaction with him. If he still wants to play, I hope he has the opportunity to play for some team. Also, I hope he can and will contribute.”
Where will he play next?
“Whatever team is gonna appreciate him,” his wife La La Anthony told TMZ.
A 10-time NBA All-Star, Anthony signed with the Houston Rockets this summer after clearing waivers in a trade that shipped him from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks.
The Rockets traded Anthony to the Chicago Bulls before the NBA’s trade deadline and was later waived.
Anthony has averaged 24 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 assists in his career with the Thunder, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets.
The third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers had been leaning toward signing Anthony for the rest of the season — until a mound of LA losses occured.
In an interview with Taryn Finley of the Huffington Post recently, Melo suggested he is at peace with the fact he may not play much longer:
“I’m sure [retirement is] coming soon. I’d be sitting lying to you if I said it’s not coming soon. I think I want it to come soon. I don’t think I want to do this forever, but because you love it so much, it’s hard to give it up. At the end of the day, at anything you do, when it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go. But as long as you feel good with that.”
“He’s a great player,” New York Knicks captain, Lance Thomas told me in December.
“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.”
“Melo has a lot left in the tank, but the NBA is shaky,” JAG, a former signed musical act of Anthony’s told NBA scribe, Landon Buford.
“There is a lot of politics and Melo’s career is being joggled in the mix of that. He just happens to be one of those players that got caught up in the mix where coaches are hating and certain players might not agree with your style of play. Melo is going through the motions and I feel if he continues to work out and get better because he is a star. He can make is on somebody’s team it all about the proper role that he will come in initially.
“He has to know he can earn that star role again and prove it to the fans an organization that he can be a team player. Carmelo is a competitor and If anyone knows Melo like know Melo, he wouldn’t be content with walking away from the game of basketball not on his own terms. So, I definitely he is going to have a shot to come back and prove he has a least two solid seasons left in him.“
Appearing on the 33rd & 7th Podcast with Anthony Donahue, former Knicks, Marcus Camby says that he believes that Anthony could return to the New York Knicks.
“Honestly, it would be up to Melo,” Camby told Donahue.
“To see if wants to be back in that situation because he got a lot of blame in New York.”
Camby thinks Melo got unneccessary criticism in NYC unlike other members of the Knicks.
“We have $100 million guys like Amar’e Stoudemire who didn’t pan out,” said Camby.
“But people never give him flack about him not meeting up to the needs of his contract. They put all the blame on Melo who wanted to come to New York.”
Camby is not the only person who has given Melo support during his Knicks era. Power 105 FM’s DJ Envy, host of the Breakfast Club Morning Show, told the Scoop B Radio Podcast that Anthony deserves more respect from the Knicks organization.
“I think that Melo deserves to get his jersey retired,” DJ Envy told me.
Born in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, NY, Anthony lived in the borough for part of his formative years.
He relocated to Baltimore, Maryland where he starred at nearby Towson Catholic before transferring to national basketball powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, VA.
Anthony’s move to NYC after winning a National Championship at Syracuse and playing seven years with the Denver Nuggets had the makings of a grand coming home party.
No such luck!
Always gracious in interviews, public appearances and even when he was off the clock, Anthony played it cool until the very end.
Anthony is one of the greatest scorers and purest small forwards to play the game.
As a Knick, Anthony broke Bernard King’s longstanding Knicks 61-point single game scoring record and Kobe Bryant’s 60-point mark for the most points ever scored at Madison Square Garden.