Will Carmelo Anthony Legacy Significantly Improve with Time?

[infinite11285]

Despite being the finest-tuned scoring machine of his generation, Carmelo Anthony is the most disappointing first-ballot Hall of Famer in NBA history.

That's his legacy (it took everything in me to not post the All-Star letterman jacket with his two career achievement patches).

[Nate505]

On top of all the other issues listed above, Carmello's legacy is hurt by the fact that he isn't "a legend" at any NBA team. He is very unlikely to have his jersey retired by anyone, and he has no realistic claim to be any franchise's all time great. There will be no fanbase keeping his legacy alive.

Yup. I wonder if all the mercenaries in the league will regret the fact that they gained no loyalty with the team. That used to be the way to gain a legacy other than by winning titles, something that very few players do as a main guy.

I've heard people say the Nuggets should retire his jersey...but why? Why honor the guy who forced his way off your team? If he stayed in Denver another few years, there probably would be a statue of the guy outside the Pepsi Center (or Ball Arena...can't get used to the name change).

[3toheadmelo]

Probably not. His legacy is forcing his way out of a decent team that made the WCF to a team he led that did jack and ****.

He didn’t force his way out of Denver though. They were going in a younger direction and Melo wanted out.

[Nate505]

Probably not. His legacy is forcing his way out of a decent team that made the WCF to a team he led that did jack and ****.

He didn’t force his way out of Denver though. They were going in a younger direction and Melo wanted out.

Semantics. He wanted out and made his noise behind the scenes to get out, and didn't sign the extension that was offered to him.

[SickMother]

If you look at their stats side by side.... it's hard to tell the difference between Melo and Adrian Dantley

And nobody talks about Dantley as an all time great

Melo has scored his 28,289 points on 22,643 FGAs | 7,764 FTAs for a dead nuts even 100 TS+ and 72 career TS Add.

Dantley scored his 23,177 points on 15,121 FGAs | 8,351 FTAs for an all time great 115 TS+ and 3,109 career TS Add.

That's a pretty stark difference.

[SomeBunghole]

He didn’t force his way out of Denver though. They were going in a younger direction and Melo wanted out.

He was 26.

[Swish1906]

He will have 30K points when its all said and done, he is a mid range beast

Lol no. He is 38 and almost 2k away and not even the Lakers wanted him back.

[Prospect Dong]

For all of you who hate the three point shot and the pace and space (r)evolution, Carmelo is your modern platonic ideal.

Instead of playing 4 or 5 out and spread pick and roll, let's go back to illegal defense rules so teams can dump it in to iso players and let them cook.

Carmelo is a tragic hero born too late for his own golden age.

I think he would have been better if he came into the league today, because he would been informed that passing to open teammates instead of shooting over the top of double teams is good, and that iso jab stepping into contested long 2s is poor offense. He came in at the worst possible time to maximize his talents.

His player archetype of high volume scorer at mediocre efficiency who doesn't create for teammates or play defense is pretty much dead because coaches just don't tolerate that stuff anymore. It's ingrained into guys from the very beginning these days that being able to pass is extremely important, whereas back when Melo was growing up shooting over double teams and hunting for your own shot at the expense of passing was much more accepted. And the frustrating thing is, Melo actually had pretty good playmaking talent on the rare occasions he decided to use it, but for the most part he decided he'd rather be a one dimensional inefficient scorer.

I think this is probably right, but the other way to spin it is that Melo was lucky enough to come into the league at a time when his particular limitations didn't hold him back from being given the opportunity to take tens of thousands of shots. Maybe he adapts to the modern league if he gets drafted this year, or maybe he ends up having a career more like, I don't know, Marvin Bagley or D'Angelo Russell.

I do wonder whether there are equivalent guys today, who are granted opportunities out of line with their impact because front offices or coaching staff have fallen in love with the wrong thing. I think we're definitely smarter about what wins games these days, but still probably not perfect. Maybe it's one dimensional shooters or small blal 5s who can't rebound or something...

[Prospect Dong]

Probably not. His legacy is forcing his way out of a decent team that made the WCF to a team he led that did jack and ****.

He didn’t force his way out of Denver though. They were going in a younger direction and Melo wanted out.

This is just crazy talk. Who one earth told you this?

He was annoyed they weren't good enough to contend, sure, but that's typically what forcing your way out looks like. When you're supporting cast is actually pretty decent and you, yourself, aren't really good enough to build a contender around it tends to hurt your legacy...

[jlokine]

to me, peak melo was nuggets melo. the legacy he left in new york was forcing a trade to new york, new york depleted all their assets to trade for him, then he sulked thru linsanity cause he didnt want to share the lime light. what he did in new york is much more forgettable than what he did in denver.

[3toheadmelo]

Probably not. His legacy is forcing his way out of a decent team that made the WCF to a team he led that did jack and ****.

He didn’t force his way out of Denver though. They were going in a younger direction and Melo wanted out.

This is just crazy talk. Who one earth told you this?

He was annoyed they weren't good enough to contend, sure, but that's typically what forcing your way out looks like. When you're supporting cast is actually pretty decent and you, yourself, aren't really good enough to build a contender around it tends to hurt your legacy...

You should learn the facts. Melo spilled the whole tea about it. He didn’t want to leave Denver. But they wanted to rebuild instead of building off the WCF team. They let Dahntay Jones go who was a key piece of the WCF team. They were going to move Chauncey, K Mart and Jr Smith. George Karl was trying to get Melo traded for Derrick Favors.

Watch on YouTube

[Swish1906]

Jones, the 18 MPG "key piece"

[celticfan42487]

Nope, he will be forgotten in time

[Egg Nog]

He's already viewed as a GOAT-level player so I don't see how it possibly could

By whomst?

Carmelo Anthony

[sp6r=underrated]

On top of all the other issues listed above, Carmello's legacy is hurt by the fact that he isn't "a legend" at any NBA team. He is very unlikely to have his jersey retired by anyone, and he has no realistic claim to be any franchise's all time great. There will be no fanbase keeping his legacy alive.

Yup. I wonder if all the mercenaries in the league will regret the fact that they gained no loyalty with the team. That used to be the way to gain a legacy other than by winning titles, something that very few players do as a main guy.

I've heard people say the Nuggets should retire his jersey...but why? Why honor the guy who forced his way off your team? If he stayed in Denver another few years, there probably would be a statue of the guy outside the Pepsi Center (or Ball Arena...can't get used to the name change).

I'm much more pro player empowerment than you are but you are correct that this is one downside for the players to chronically moving.

Take a guy Melo compared to a lot: Nique. Nique didn't play his entire career for Atlanta but he spent his entire prime there. And that fact probably gives him greater post-playing relevance. There is a level of affection for him in Atlanta that probably isn't there for the chronic movers.

[Prospect Dong]

He didn’t force his way out of Denver though. They were going in a younger direction and Melo wanted out.

This is just crazy talk. Who one earth told you this?

He was annoyed they weren't good enough to contend, sure, but that's typically what forcing your way out looks like. When you're supporting cast is actually pretty decent and you, yourself, aren't really good enough to build a contender around it tends to hurt your legacy...

You should learn the facts. Melo spilled the whole tea about it. He didn’t want to leave Denver. But they wanted to rebuild instead of building off the WCF team. They let Dahntay Jones go who was a key piece of the WCF team. They were going to move Chauncey, K Mart and Jr Smith. George Karl was trying to get Melo traded for Derrick Favors.

Watch on YouTube

Yeah, this is a whole bunch of 'they were going to' stuff trying to save his reputation and then trying to make Dahntay Jones - of all people - sound important because that's the one thing they actually did. Jones posted a PER of 9 that year for Denver, and a -2.9 BMP. Demanding a trade because he was let go would be like Barrett demanding a trade because the Knicks got rid of Alec Burks. Except that Burks was a significantly bigger contributor...

[Swish1906]

On top of all the other issues listed above, Carmello's legacy is hurt by the fact that he isn't "a legend" at any NBA team. He is very unlikely to have his jersey retired by anyone, and he has no realistic claim to be any franchise's all time great. There will be no fanbase keeping his legacy alive.

Yup. I wonder if all the mercenaries in the league will regret the fact that they gained no loyalty with the team. That used to be the way to gain a legacy other than by winning titles, something that very few players do as a main guy.

I've heard people say the Nuggets should retire his jersey...but why? Why honor the guy who forced his way off your team? If he stayed in Denver another few years, there probably would be a statue of the guy outside the Pepsi Center (or Ball Arena...can't get used to the name change).

Even if the Nuggets MAYBE think about it... They are going to retire his Knicks #7? Double awkward

[3toheadmelo]

This is just crazy talk. Who one earth told you this?

He was annoyed they weren't good enough to contend, sure, but that's typically what forcing your way out looks like. When you're supporting cast is actually pretty decent and you, yourself, aren't really good enough to build a contender around it tends to hurt your legacy...

You should learn the facts. Melo spilled the whole tea about it. He didn’t want to leave Denver. But they wanted to rebuild instead of building off the WCF team. They let Dahntay Jones go who was a key piece of the WCF team. They were going to move Chauncey, K Mart and Jr Smith. George Karl was trying to get Melo traded for Derrick Favors.

Watch on YouTube

Yeah, this is a whole bunch of 'they were going to' stuff trying to save his reputation and then trying to make Dahntay Jones - of all people - sound important because that's the one thing they actually did. Jones posted a PER of 9 that year for Denver, and a -2.9 BMP. Demanding a trade because he was let go would be like Barrett demanding a trade because the Knicks got rid of Alec Burks. Except that Burks was a significantly bigger contributor...

I would suggest rewatching the playoffs that season. Jones was their best perimeter defender and always guarded the opponents team best player. He had a big role on that team and was a tremendous voice in their locker room. Pretty convenient of you to ignore that they wanted to move on from Billups who was the leader of that team and other key pieces like K mart and JR.

[SomeBunghole]

Take a guy Melo compared to a lot: Nique. Nique didn't play his entire career for Atlanta but he spent his entire prime there. And that fact probably gives him greater post-playing relevance. There is a level of affection for him in Atlanta that probably isn't there for the chronic movers.

Melo will probably end up being a HOF-er, but he is also likely to end up being the only person to be in the HOF and in the top 10 scoring all time to not having his jersey retired by a team.

I don't think the Nuggets fans have forgiven him, and the rise of Jokić means that Melo isn't even in serious contention for their best player this century, let alone of all time.

I'm not a Knicks fan, but I think I can speak for them and say that a team who's retired only one jersey in the past 40 years isn't about to make Melo the second.

And it's more than just legacy, it's an idea of "home" after you retire. Nique is a legend in Atlanta. He has a statue, he's done colour commentary, he's been in front office positions. Hell, they had him as a judge of some kind of an NHL All-Star contest when they held the game in Atlanta.

But you don't even have to be Nique for this. Memo Okur still comes to Jazz games multiple times a season, when he's taking a break from golfing in Cali and enjoying time with family. They always interview him on the Jazz broadcast. He always gets a huge cheer from the crowd. The guys in the truck always cue up some footage of him draining threes. The man was a one time All-Star and he was only in Utah for 7 years. If he wanted some kind of an ambassadorial role within the organization, they'd gladly give it to him.

I get that Melo may prefer to just retire and spend his money on whatever pastimes and interests he has, but I find that most former players like to maintain some connecting to the game. It's so much easier when you have a home as a player.

[bubonicphoniks]

I doubt people in the future will increasingly appreciate relatively inefficient scorers who didn't bring much else to the table.

Lol this