Carmelo Anthony has had a wild year.
After being traded from the New York Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for one season, Anthony is now on the verge of being traded to his third team in one year and according to new reports, he may be looking forward to going to his fourth.
In an interview with ESPN’s Jamele Hill, Anthony revealed that although it looks grim, he’s come to accept the culture of trade as a part of being in the NBA.
“To get bought out, to get waived, you were looked at like, you’re done,” Carmelo said in the interview. “Now, it’s just almost like the norm. If something doesn’t work, go ahead and get a buyout or go ahead and get traded. That’s the new norm in our society in basketball. I had to get over that.”
In regards to his future with the Hawks, Anthony is expected to be waived, and once he clears waivers, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent and is rumored to be in talks to sign with the Houston Rockets after footage surfaced of him playing basketball with James Harden and Chris Paul in Los Angeles hit the web.
“Obviously, we’re just trying to figure it out,” Anthony continued. “Everybody knows about the trade to Atlanta. I think everything is trying to get cleared right now. I’ll let the people do what they do. I just sit back and when the time comes, and the call gets made, we’ll make that move.”
About his short-lived tenure with the OKC Thunder, Anthony revealed that he felt the situation “wasn’t a good fit” due to timing and feeling as if he was the added piece to an already put together puzzle.
“At the end of the day, it wasn’t a good fit,” he said. “I think last year — and I haven’t talked about this before — everything was just so rushed, going to the team for media day and the day before training camp. Them guys already had something in place, and then I come along in the 25th hour like, oh s—, Melo just come on and join us. Like, you can figure it out since you’ve been around the game for a long time. That’s why it was so inconsistent. At times, I had to figure it out on my own rather than somebody over there or people over there helping me.”
In the midst of the trade deal, OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti acknowledged Carmelo’s professionalism and thanked him for his time with the organization.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Carmelo Anthony and acknowledge his professionalism and contributions during his time with the Thunder,” Thunder GM Sam Presti said in a statement released by the team. “Although his tenure was only one year, the fact that Melo is a part of our history is important to us. We appreciate Carmelo and his agent Leon Rose for their collaboration and communication as we worked to resolve the situation in a fashion that was suitable to everyone. We wish Melo and his family nothing but the best in the future.”
Check out the full interview with Jamele Hill here.
