Carmelo Anthony nearly ended his career in his reunion with the New York Knicks, but he refused to play a reduced role.
Speaking of his Podcast “7pm in Brooklyn”Anthony said that in the summer of 2022, he had discussions with Knicks management about joining the Knicks. The Knicks are managed by Leon Rose, who was Anthony’s agent for much of his playing career.
However, Anthony said the team made it clear that he would be the 15th player on the roster and that he probably wouldn’t play often. Anthony said he couldn’t accept that role.
“The powers that be, we sat down and had a conversation,” Anthony said before replaying the conversation.
“Listen, this is the place. You might be on the team tomorrow, but this is it.”
“I said no. No. I can’t. Not knowing when I’m going to play and not playing, I’d rather not go through that. I’m going to retire gracefully.”
Anthony continued:
“It’s a hell of a decline when I look at the big picture. It’s a hell of a decline… I was like, no, I can’t accept that. I don’t even think you wanted me in this role, that’s why you offered it to me, but you didn’t really offer it to me, because you know deep down you don’t really want me in this role.”
Anthony had spent the previous year with the Los Angeles Lakers, his 19th year in the NBA. He played 69 games, averaging 13.3 points on 44% shooting, 37.5% from three-point range, with 4 rebounds per game in 26 minutes per game.
Anthony said he thought the team was worried his presence on the bench would become a distraction.
“I think they were a little hesitant to offer me the job because of the reaction they would get if I was out there and I wasn’t playing,” Anthony said. “That’s a big reaction. So it would be more of a distraction than a plus, more of a positive. It’s more of a distraction if I’m out there on the bench and the whole Garden is saying, ‘We want Melo!’ All that kind of crap, you have to think about it.”
“So for me, I also had to be smart, like, ‘Are you ready to be the 15th man?’… At that point in my career, I didn’t want to have to deal with that mentally and emotionally.”
Anthony said the Knicks ended up signing Taj Gibson with the job he was offered, noting that he and Gibson play very different roles.
It’s probably better that Anthony and the Knicks didn’t end up together. That year, the Knicks finished 47-35 and reached the second round of the playoffs, thanks to strong performances from Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley’s second Sixth Man of the Year nomination, and Josh Hart’s defensive and dynamic contributions. It’s hard to see where Anthony would have fit into the rotation, and he’s probably right that his lack of playing time would have gotten undue attention.
Anthony eventually officially announced his retirement in spring 2023.
Although he failed to reach a deal with the team, Anthony frequently attends Knicks games and was one of many alumni to support the team during its playoff run last year.
Check out his comments below:
