NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 10: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat gives his jersey to former NBA player Carmelo Anthony after the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on April 10, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. This was Wade's last NBA game before retirement. 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 Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
With NBA training camp starting, Carmelo Anthony is still looking for an NBA home.
In a recent interview with Fanatics View, NBA Champion turned TNT analyst, Kenny Smith reveals what the hold up may be for Melo. “The league is a very copycat league and a very perception oriented league,” Smith told Fanatics View during a recent visit to Dallas, Texas.
More from Smith via a transcript provided by NBA scribe and Dallas Mavericks beat writer, Landon Buford.
“I remember when foreign players were coming into the NBA. There was a big prejudice against foreign players just because of perception. Oh, they can’t play here, and we look at last year. International players won most of the awards predominately. So, there has always been that type of prejudice thought about perception. Now, Melo fits that perception that he can’t play in the league, which is not true.”
The third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Melo hasn’t played NBA basketball since November 8, 2018 in a game against his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He’s averaged 24 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 assists in his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets. “He could come into a team and sit,” Chris Haynes tells Scoop B Radio.
A 10-time NBA All-Star, Anthony signed with the Houston Rockets last summer after clearing waivers in a trade that shipped him from the Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks. After signing with the Rockets he was later dealt to the Chicago Bulls before the NBA trade deadline.
Many have said that he’s past his prime and can’t compete anymore.
Appearing on Power 105.1 FM’s The Breakfast Club, ESPN First Take’s Stephen A. Smith told Angela Yee, DJ Envy and Charlamage the God that an NBA assistant coach shared with him that Carmelo’s resume could be intimidating for a bench player.
“One coach said this to me, he said: ‘Stephen A this brotha is a future Hall of Famer, but I don’t think he works for my nine man rotation. How am I supposed to look down at the end of my bench and see a Hall of Famer and not think I’m going to take heat for that? Why would I want that headache? I know from roster 9 to 15, he clearly could be on any roster in the NBA. The problem is, most of those dudes are marginal talents without his resume that you could justify and get away with it and get peace of mind. That’s why he’s not in the league.”