George Karl blasted Carmelo Anthony in his new book, ripping the Knicks star's attitude, leadership ability and addiction to spotlight.
Karl coached Anthony for six years with the Denver Nuggets, and in the book called him a "true conundrum" and "a user of people." Karl also criticized Anthony's unwillingness to play defense and said being a scorer doesn't "make him a winner" in his book, "Furious George," that's due out in January.
"Carmelo was a true conundrum for me in the six years I had him," Karl wrote in the book, a copy of which was obtained by Newsday. "He was the best offensive player I ever coached. He was also a user of people, addicted to the spotlight, and very unhappy when he had to share it.
"He really lit my fuse with his low demand for himself on defense. He had no commitment to the hard, dirty work of stopping the other guy. My ideal _ probably every coach's ideal _ is when your best player also is your leader. But since Carmelo only played hard on one side of the ball, he made it plain and simple he couldn't lead the Nuggets, even though he said he wanted to. Coaching him meant working around his defense and compensating for his attitude."
Karl also took shots at ex-Knicks J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin, both of whom he coached with the Nuggets. He said Smith had a "huge sense of entitlement, a distracting posse, his eye always on his next contract and some really unbelievable shot selection."
Knicks president Phil Jackson drew the ire of LeBron James and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, among others for referring to James' friends and business partners as "a posse" in an interview last month.
Karl coached Anthony from 2005 until Anthony forced his trade to the Knicks in February 2011. He said "he didn't think Anthony "cared enough about being a good teammate."
Karl also said "getting rid of Carmelo Anthony was a sweet release for the coach and the team, like popping a blister," and that the Nuggets "won the trade, definitely."
After Anthony was moved, Karl said the "ball rarely stopped for an isolation play." Jackson said something similar two weeks ago about Anthony, who fired back on Instagram and Twitter. Anthony has yet to be asked about the book.
"He and I had a little conflict bubbling," Karl wrote. "I want as much effort on defense _ maybe more _ as on offense. That was never going to happen with Melo, whose amazing ability to score with the ball made him a star but didn't make him a winner. Which I pointed out to him. Which he didn't like."
Anthony probably won't like hearing what Karl said about him in this book either.
