Carmelo Anthony is like that vintage Corvette you see and hear rumbling past. This car has been well-maintained. Your neck twists a bit as it passes. You look with appreciation for such a fine machine.
Ultimately, as sweet as this Corvette looks to the eyes, it is flashy and unsubstantial. You like to watch it, but you wouldn’t want to own one. The maintenance and upkeep aren’t worth those admiring glances—unless you are overcompensating, or just a sucker of some kind.
Since about 2012, Carmelo has not been a good piece for any NBA team. Seems strange to say that, about someone so gifted at the game of basketball. Sometimes true things sound queer to the ears.
“Those wasted years with the New York Knicks were Phil Jackson’s fault!” say some Melo apologists. Jackson’s manipulative metaphysical witchcraft head games certainly had something to do with the Knicks’ futility during the time he and Anthony shared in NYC. But Melo was no more the solution than the so-called Zen master. His stubbornness to what Jackson was attempting to build only bounced back upon him, to his own harm.
The 2017 mingling of Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Melo in Oklahoma City stirred up some fanatics and talking heads. This version of a “Big Three” seemed to promise a level of excitement on the court. Must-see television for the sports fan.
But those of us who have watched basketball with discernment for more than a few years knew from jump: Carmelo Anthony doesn’t fit anywhere that wants to win the title.
Melo’s style of play is toxic to today’s style of professional basketball. A smoothly-operating team can’t succeed with him as the primary focus. That is why the Oklahoma City Thunder won’t win much with this talented trio of go-for-yours hoops stars. Westbrook, George and Anthony are a gathering of “ole’” defense, limited self-awareness, NBA 2K dream draft picks, and not much more. From an entertainment viewpoint, that’s super. Keep it on that level, and everything is okay. Except we know there are greater expectations… ones that will not be met.
“In Denver with the Nuggets, Melo was a good teammate. He co-existed well with the infamous ball-hog Allen Iverson!” Deferring to AI without publicly complaining doesn’t mean that Melo was the paragon of maturity. That Nugget team was going nowhere with Melo. It was probably a lot of fun, dropping forty points each as a tandem, and still losing.
There was only one ball to go between two ball-dominant wing players. Melo is an infamous ball-hog, too. That should go without saying.
As for the “good guy” claims, Carmelo normally reverts to form, after periods of responsible passing and encouragement to teammates. He always goes right back to gunning from the locker room. Anyway, being a good guy in high-level competitive sports only matters when people say it matters. You cannot be a humble man and succeed in professional sports. Normally smart people have a problem comprehending that fact.
Related: The Modest Superstar Oxymoron
If the Answer was 6-foot-6, the Melo-Iverson duo would have been legendary. But then, their names would have been D. Wade and Bron. They still are inferior to the Miami Heat in this fantasy scenario, for neither Wade nor Bron are shot chuckers…
“Melo is a winner. He won at Syracuse.” College basketball is different than the pros. Forgive me for stating the obvious. Some people need it broken down into simple parts.
In college, one or two future professional basketball players can take a team deep into the NCAA tournament. We’ve seen this repeatedly. Pure talent is more important than most everything else.
Even the elite coaches like Roy Williams or Mike Krzyzewski are considered elite because of the talent they could acquire and then work with. They don’t take a group of average players to title games. Their recruits are among the best. These coaches’ ability to teach have a chance to shine.
We are several years past Melo being the focus of a championship NBA team. So, the hope of him winning a ring in the league will be relegated to him accepting a sixth man position, or something similar. He is not a role player at heart. At least, not yet. Not until it becomes totally undeniable that he is declining.
Smart guys don’t buy used Corvettes and expect long-term performance without a serious price. Until Carmelo stands down, most likely with a team later in his career which will allow him to win as a relative NBA elder coming off the bench, he ain’t getting a ring.
.