Carmelo Anthony had an illustrious NBA career spanning 19 years, and the most prolific shooter of his era had just one regret — not listening to Dwyane Wade on his thoughts about free agency in 2010.
Soon after he announced his retirement, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Herring examined his decorated run and shed focus on how Anthony’s decision to sign a five-year deal with the Nuggets went against Wade’s suggestion.
“There were moments in his career that easily could have flipped the script,” Herring said “During the summer of 2006, while he was training with fellow Team USA players and draft class members LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, Anthony chose to sign a five-year, $80 million maximum extension with the Nuggets, a choice that ran counter to the shorter, three-year deals those players were signing so they could later all test free agency simultaneously.”
“My memory of that is that I called Mel like right as he was sitting down to sign his deal,” Wade says, “And by then, it was too late.”
Herring also added that Melo remembered it clearly and regrets that he could have looked at what the shorter deal may have given him. His business acumen wasn’t the greatest when he told Wade, “Do you know where I’m from, man?’ Like, I’m happy, bro. I’m cool with Denver.'”
It’s worth noting that had Wade’s advice been considered, Melo could have tasted more success in his career by potentially joining the former, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh who won two championships for the Heat in their four years together.
Instead, Melo played for the Nuggets till 2011 and was later traded to the Knicks. And while it did put him in the spotlight as their star, he couldn’t win a title with them.
LeBron James Had A Special For Carmelo Anthony After His Retirement
James and Melo shared and continue to share a special bond after playing with and against each other, and soon after his retirement, the only existing player in action from the 2003 Draft class had a special message.
“Congratulations, my brother. Where do I start? Is it us all the way back in High School, sitting outside that hotel all the way to the battles we had together? I could sit here and talk for hours and hours and hours, and I’m just so proud of you, man, and so blessed and humbled to be a part of your journey. You’re one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen.
“From the very moment, I saw you at Colorado Springs at the USA basketball, all the way to me teaming up with you on the Lakers. You’ve always been one of the greatest I’ve seen play the game, man, and I just wanna say congratulations to you and to your family and everything you accomplished…”
This is surely rich praise from a legend himself. Maybe, just maybe in another dimension, Melo could run it back on what he missed.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
