LeBron James has openly spoken about wanting to own an NBA team in the future, and his good friend Carmelo Anthony has now revealed that’s a goal of his as well. On his 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast, Anthony stated he would like to buy the Washington Wizards.
“I want to buy the Wizards first of all,” Anthony said. “Let me just say that… I would be a great owner, by the way.”
Monica McNutt asked Anthony to explain why he believes he’ll succeed as an owner, and he had an interesting response.
“I’m a former player,” Anthony stated. “I understand players, I understand personnel, I understand strategy, I understand being strategic, I understand how to build teams. But I also understand what I don’t understand. I know what I don’t know. So with that, you also have to put people in those positions in every position.
“President, GM, they have to have some type of basketball [acumen],” Anthony continued. “… You put all the basketball acumen in those positions, and then you cover that with business minds. So now you create these levels… The business minds can never question the basketball minds, but it has to be a connection between the two.
“So with that, you put those people in play,” Anthony added. “Now, equity comes in because now you got to create these experiences, fan experiences. A lot of owners don’t put that work in, to create fan experience. They hire somebody.”
Anthony doesn’t like the type of experience fans get inside arenas today. He states that all you often see is a player being shown on the screen and some generic half-time show. He has plans to provide fans with some kind of experience even when they’re two blocks away from the arena.
Anthony also stated that he realizes how important it is for the community to be connected to the team.
“Bring the fans to them (the players), bring them to the practice facility,” Anthony said. “That’s why we have beautiful practice facilities. Bring them to the practice facilities, let them see open practice, let them sit there. Have Knicks Day, have Wizards Day where the fans is free and you… Players don’t wanna go nowhere. You bring it to them, in a sense… You really gotta give back.”
Anthony certainly has some grand ideas. Monumental Sports and Entertainment, founded by Ted Leonsis, currently owns the Wizards. There has been no indication that Leonsis wants to sell the team or is looking for another investor, but he might be willing to entertain the idea of a man of Anthony’s stature coming on board.
Anthony played 19 seasons in the NBA, during which he made 10 All-Star teams and won a scoring title. He finished his career with averages of 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game and was honored with a spot on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team as well.
A long and successful career resulted in Anthony earning $262 million in salaries in the NBA. He now reportedly has a net worth of $160 million, and it will be interesting to see if his wish comes true in the coming years.
