Getty Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony hasn’t played NBA basketball since November 8, 2018, in a game against his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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 Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks.
Anthony can still hoop and his trainer, Chris Brickley is standing behind his guy.
Appearing on Power 105’s The Breakfast Club a few days ago, Brickley tells DJ Envy and Angela Yee that Anthony is still better than current NBA players right now.
“He’s easily better than 60 percent, 70 percent of the NBA players walking around,” he said.
“It’s just that teams are afraid of ‘I want to be a starter.’ It’s not the case. Melo just wants to have a farewell season, do what D-Wade did. Have a jersey swap. He had a great career, he’s a Hall of Famer. So hopefully that could happen.”
Brickley’s Black Ops is New York’s spot for open run for professional basketball players.
NBA workout season has begun & Black Ops action at Lifetime Fitness in Manhattan is A THING!
New York Knicks’ Dennis Smith & Julius Randle are Playing. So is Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young, Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell & NBA free agents Lance Stephenson & Carmelo Anthony.
The Scene? Manhattan’s Life Time Athletic.
You name ’em, they’re in there: LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and other notable NBA All Stars have all played in pick up games at the popular NYC spot.
Make sure to Check Out Chris Brickley’s Power 105 The Breakfast Club interview with Angela Yee and DJ Envy.
Chris Brickley is not the only NBA expert to discuss Carmelo Anthony’s ability to start for an NBA franchise.
While appearing on a past episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, DJ Envy told me himself that Melo is the man!
“I love Melo,” DJ Envy told Scoop B Radio.
“I think Melo being in New York, coming to the Knicks is bad. I think the management is bad and I think they really don’t know what they are doing. I don’t like how they pick players, I don’t like how they respect their players, but I am a Knicks fan and I always have been a Knicks fan.”
DJ Envy also thinks the Knicks should do right by Melo:
“I think that Melo deserves to get his jersey retired.
“His jersey would never get retired.”
We’ve got former NBA Slam Dunk Champion, Nate Robinson on Line 1:
“He can help any team if you let him be himself,” Nate Robinson told Dallas Mavericks writer, Landon Buford.
“You have to let Melo be Melo and if you do that, he can definitely help any team in a starting role.”
“He is one of the best 300 players in the world that’s not playing,” TNT’s Kenny Smith told me in April.
“You can’t say he’s not one of the best 300 players.”
Fox Sports One’s Chris Broussard had a different take.
“Carmelo Anthony needs to retire,” the NBA Insider who doubles as a sports opinionist said on television.
“This is unbecoming to a first ballot Hall of Famer and I think that’s what he is. His first year in the league, he took a 17-win Nuggets team to the Playoffs in the West as a rookie. It took LeBron two years to get Cleveland into the Playoffs from 17 wins.”
According to NBA.com: LBJ is within striking distance of passing a pair of Hall of Famers in 2019-20: Gary Payton (whom he trails by 305 assists) and Isiah Thomas (400).
A three-time NBA Champion, James, who averaged 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 55 games for the Los Angeles Lakers this season will start at point guard next season.
While he’s been away from the game, he’s been spending a ton of time going to his son, Kiyan’s basketball games.
“He’s a great player,” New York Knick, 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.”
Retired NBA player Etan Thomas has been vocal about Anthony. He recently penned an op-ed via Syracuse.com about where Anthony is as a player.
Etan Thomas also chatted with me exclusively via Scoop B Radio about Melo.
For those tardy to the party: Thomas was the 12th pick by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2000 NBA Draft.
ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 07: Jamal Crawford #11 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts after a foul against the New Jersey Nets with Etan Thomas #36 at Philips Arena on December 7, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
He had stints with the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder and Atlanta Hawks.
Our chat followed a community service that honored the fifth year anniversary of Eric Garner’s death.
Other notables in attendance included Emerald Snipes-Garner, Daughter of Eric Garner, Eric Snipes-Garner Jr., Son of Eric Garner, Emery Snipes-Garner, Son of Eric Garner, Esaw Garner, wife of Eric Garner, Korey Wise, of the Exonerated 5, Ilyasah Shabazz, Daughter of Malcolm X, Journalist and activist, Shaun King.
Check out our Q&A below:
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: So I read your op-ed, I perused it, about Carmelo Anthony. One of the things you brought up was the media perception of him not starting vs coming off the bench. Reiterate from your perspective, as an NBA player, do yo think that the OKC press conference where he discussed whether he was starting or being on the bench, do you think that hurt him or helped him?
Etan Thomas: It was a spin move, kind of like how Kapernick said this is why i”m taking a knee, but then people said it was for other reasons. When Carmelo was asked if he can truly start, he said “yeah, I’m gonna start on my life, I can do this or that.” No player is going to say, “Nah, I ain’t got it no more, I’m washed up.” No, every player, who has ever played, played for four minutes. So they blew everything he said out of proportion. He didn’t say that he wouldn’t start, he had just got off the bench in Houston. So, I think he media right now is trying to blackball him, and I”m trying to figure out why. So I looked at the other coaches and see that they’re talking about him, I’m like “look at these cats, look at John Carl.” He’s had a problem with every star player, who has a problem with Ray Allen?! Ya know? No one has a problem with these guys. So, he’s the common denominator in it. And Phil Jackson? That was a whole mess here in New York! He was trying to bad mouth and everything like that, Carmelo Anthony handled the situation like a professional. He didn’t want to go into the back and forth, he didn’t say that to give them a reason, he goes up there to hit it hard everyday, they wanted to start all over. That wasn’t his fault. So I think the whole perception of it, ya know, the twist and the slant of it was unfair. Can he still play? Of course he could! But the whole way it panned out…like no one is saying that’s who or how he is. You know what I mean? Even when people say he was playing harry Denvers when he was younger, he wanted to score a lot. The only people who had negative things to say was the players. Everyone else had positive things to say about them.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: His personal trainer, Chris Brinkley who runs Black Ops, was on the Breakfast Club the other day, he said Carmelo Anthony was better than 60-70%…
Etan Thomas: I mean I ain’t gonna give a percentage on it, but he should be playing in the NBA…
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: I’m not getting into percentages, but when you look at him, what teams do you think he could play for?
Etan Thomas: Looking at the Lakers right now. I mean, I think he could do well with….no but… needs to score. But the fact that eh’s playing right now is ridiculous. What team? Ut’s the first time he’s gonna be an NBA Hall of Famer. I don’t know. Houston just wasn’t used to him. He kept scoring, but he made it to the playoffs.