Carmelo Anthony’s dream of retiring with the New York Knicks died with the nixed Donovan Mitchell trade talks.
Anthony revealed in the latest episode of the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast that he had serious talks with the Knicks in the summer of 2022 before he officially retired from the NBA.
“My goal was to always make it back to finish it out here [in New York],” Anthony said. “So that was my plan.”‘
After averaging 13.3 points with the Los Angeles Lakers off the bench the previous season, Anthony said he “still can play” at that time and help the Knicks.
But when the Utah Jazz ultimately traded Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers forcing the Knicks to run it back while also adding Jalen Brunson into the mix, suddenly, there was no spot for Anthony in the regular rotation.
“We sat down, had a real conversation. Listen, ‘here’s a spot you can be on the team tomorrow, but this is the spot,” Anthony said, referring to being a situational player.
Anthony ultimately declined the Knicks’ offer.
“No, I can’t [accept the offer] not knowing when you gonna play and not play,” Anthony explained. “And I’d rather not go through that, right? I’m about grace. I just had a hell of a year in LA, in my role. … I can’t do that. That’s a hell of a decline when I look at the overall big picture.”
Carmelo Anthony Did Not Want to Be a Distraction
Anthony did not want to spend his retirement tour as a bench warmer.
“That’s not the representation of New York Knicks No. 7 that we want people to remember,” Anthony said.
He also did not want to be a distraction to the Knicks.
“And also, I think there was a little hesitation of really offering me that position because of maybe the response they would have got of me being over there and not playing,” Anthony said. “That’s a hell of a response. So that would be more of a distraction than an addition. If I’m over there on the bench and the whole Garden is “We Want Melo” like you got to think about that.”
“My goal was always to make it back.”
After a productive year in the Lakers rotation, Melo hoped to run it back in NY — but the fit wasn’t there.
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Carmelo Anthony Retires as 1 of Knicks Greats
With no other NBA offer, Anthony retired after a 19-year career.
He finished his storied career in the top 10 all-time scoring list with 28,289 career points across 19 seasons with six different teams, most notably with the Denver Nuggets and the Knicks.
Anthony led the Knicks to three consecutive playoff runs that peaked in the 2012-13 season, in which he led the entire NBA in scoring and defeated the Boston Celtics in the opening round of the playoffs to deliver the franchise’s first postseason series win since 1999-00. He became the only second player in Knicks history to win the scoring title, joining NBA legend Bernard King.
The following season, Anthony produced one of the greatest single-game performances in Madison Square Garden history, pouring in 62 points against the Charlotte Bobcats, the most points scored in the iconic arena since 1968.
Brunson came close to eclipsing it with a career-high 61 points last season against the San Antonio Spurs on March 29.
In six-plus seasons with the Knicks, he was named to the All-Star team six times and the All-NBA team twice cementing his status as one of the greatest Knicks players of all time.
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Carmelo Anthony Reveals Details of Knicks Comeback Talks Before Retiring