Carmelo Anthony sat down with Stephen A. Smith today on First Take and opened up about what has gone wrong in his NBA career the past few years. Anthony blamed reasons far deeper than basketball for why things went south with the Houston Rockets:
Anthony never got specific into what non-basketball reasons he was referring to, but it was bizarre Houston brought him in and then had no plans for him. They knew exactly what they were getting when they added him to their roster. And that was a still-talented player who was hard to play with and a ball-stopper. Anthony added that neither James Harden or Chris Paul acted like they knew what went wrong with the Rockets.
Anthony told Smith he still wants to return to the NBA. At this point, that seems unlikely. On the court, Anthony does not have a game that translates effectively to just a role player. Which is what he would have to once again accept. He cannot defend and needs the ball in his hands at a high volume to make any real impact. Far or not, he also always brings extra unwanted attention to whichever team he is on. Now, maybe a team like the Grizzlies would take a chance just to sell some tickets. But would Anthony just settle for that? That, too, feels like a long shot. It’s highly possible the end has already come for a player that had at one point one of the highest ceilings we have ever seen.
