Carmelo Anthony still has zero interest in coming off the bench.
Speaking to ESPN’s Jemele Hill, Anthony sent an emphatic message to those who believe it’s time for the 34-year-old to play a reserve role at this stage in his career.
“I know how to play this game of basketball,” Anthony told ESPN. “I’ve been playing it for a long time. When I feel like I’m ready to take that role, then I’ll take that role. Only I know when it’s best for me to take that role. I’m not going to do that in a situation where I still know my capabilities and what I can do. And at the end of the day, the people who really matter know my capabilities and what I can still do.”
There’s an argument to be made that a bench role is exactly what Anthony’s capabilities suggest he’s still able to do, particularly because he’s coming off what was the worst season of his 15-season career that saw him average 16.2 points per game on a dismal 40.4 per cent shooting and 35.7 per cent from three-point range in his first and only season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He has since been traded to the Atlanta Hawks and is expected to sign with the Houston Rockets as the Hawks are reportedly looking to waive him, an experience that’s likely bruised the 10-time all-star’s ego.
“For me, out of all the work I put in the NBA — wins, losses, points scored, whatever — to be judged off of six months of a year overshadowed 15 years of what you’ve accomplished,” Anthony said. “That’s the hurtful part.”
Should Anthony land with Houston he’ll, perhaps for the first time in his career, get a shot to play for a time with realistic title aspirations, something he believes will erase the negative press that’s come his way of late.
“I think winning … rewrites everything,” said Anthony. “It settles everything.”
But, as it would seem, only if Anthony is one of the 10 men who start an NBA game.
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