Iman Shumpert has revealed some things on his tenure with the New York Knicks, including the things that happened with Carmelo Anthony, the biggest figure of the team back in the day. Melo is now with the Portland Trail Blazers after spending the first part of the season with no team, trying to get a new chance in the league.
There was some type of bad image around Anthony and that cost him a lot in his attempts to find a new franchise. However, Shumpert defended Melo, talking about how he doesn’t look for credit and how he did things in New York, taking the blame for everybody in the team, including the man who was in charge of the squad.
On a recent appearance on Vlad TV, Shumpert said:
“Off the court, he don’t get no credit. He’s somebody that can deal with noise, somebody that could withhold comments and just not hide behind their work, but let the work speak for them. And somebody that when he does finally speak, doesn’t lie. He won’t lie and he won’t blame. And there’s time I literally have told him ‘bro, why you ain’t just – why you ain’t?’, ‘it’s not my job to take food out of another man mouth, I’ll take the blame. Even if it’s coach’s fault, they’ll fire him, they ain’t gonna fire me. Imma trust in my work ethic that I can fix this.’
“I respected that, like somebody that could man up, still not missing under his son’s games, picking him up from school, still walk around, like walking around in the Eastside. … Seeing this, while they’re all over you and you’re the hottest thing going in New York, you can’t walk out his house without them criticizing, and you just keep going, keep working and keep your head down. I couldn’t have a better example as far as like work ethic.”
These remarks are pretty interesting given the reputation of Melo around the league. Shumpert had plenty of time to know the man and how he manages his life. Even though Anthony has been heavily criticized for his ‘selfish’ personality and the way he acted with teammates, Iman’s words can tell you a whole different story.
While Melo is waiting to see if the season will return, Shumpert is a free agent after leaving the Brooklyn Nets.
