Will Carmelo Anthony Legacy Significantly Improve with Time?

[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).

Denver retiring his number makes little sense as they already have a #15 they will one day retire and potentially build a statue for.

Yeah, but there's a reason that a rookie 2nd round pick chose that number. It was available, because they guy who had it forced his way out of town (er, according to one guy it was because NBA legend Dehanty Jones wasn't re-signed, which is like totally plausible). You know what number wasn't available in Utah in 2004? #12 and #32.

[Nate505]

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

Dahntay Jones was a key part of the team that made the WCF? On what planet? He averaged 20 minutes in Round 1, 16.5 minutes in Round 2, and 15.5 minutes in Round 3. He got less and less key as the playoffs progressed.

That is **** hilarious. And either way it means nothing. If Anthony is the great player everyone says he is, and at that point he's still very young, they should easily be able to rebuild around him. But not if he's going to force his way out of the team.

[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

Dahntay Jones was a key part of the team that made the WCF? On what planet? He averaged 20 minutes in Round 1, 16.5 minutes in Round 2, and 15.5 minutes in Round 3. He got less and less key as the playoffs progressed.

That is **** hilarious. And either way it means nothing. If Anthony is the great player everyone says he is, and at that point he's still very young, they should easily be able to rebuild around him. But not if he's going to force his way out of the team.

It’s hilarious you only care about Jones when they were going to move their other guys like I mentioned.

[3toheadmelo]

lol Dahntay Jones. Such BS. This is just him re-writing history to try and make himself look good. A real winner with any loyalty would have let the team make moves for the better. KMart was constantly injured and on a terrible contract, there's no way the Nuggets would have traded Chauncey and JR was decent but a headcase. And again, lol Dahntay Jones.

The fact is he was talking about teaming up with other stars at a wedding long before any of this stuff supposedly happened. Lala wanted a reality show. They called Denver a cow town. And he ended up leaving a team with a legit shot at a championship for a team that had no shot.

He’s not rewriting any of this. The wedding was in the summer of 2010. Jones was already gone. So your narrative is busted there.

You say “there’s no way they would’ve traded Chauncey” yet they literally traded him along with Melo to rebuild. Another narrative busted. You can try to believe your conspiracy theories, but we know what really happened.

They would have kept Chauncey if Melo had stayed. Melo broke up the team.

But tell us more about Dahntay Jones.

They weren’t though. Go listen to what he said since you obviously didn’t.

[RRFB]

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

Anyone who closely followed the Melo-era Nuggets will tell you this is mostly BS. Not sure why you’re defending this clip so vehemently.

There’s zero chance Denver was actively planning to trade Chauncey. George Karl loved coaching him and claims he’s his favorite player he ever coached. Chauncey is a Denver native that is beloved by the city. He wanted to stay in Denver and was vocally unhappy with the trade. He never would have been moved if Melo didn’t force his way out.

Kenyon Martin was overpaid and over the hill. He was dead weight the majority of his time in Denver due to constantly being injured. His max contract was likely the biggest barrier to the Nuggets ever building a true contender around Melo. So yeah, his contract was about to expire and they were going to let him walk, and that was objectively a GOOD thing. To imply his departure meant Denver was blowing it up just isn’t true.

And I’m not even going to get into Dahntay Jones and JR Smith as that’s already been covered by other posters. If those two were Melo’s reason to force his way to arguably the most poorly run franchise in all of professional sports, than he’s an even bigger fool than anyone has ever given him credit for.

[Jadoogar]

it is weird how low he's ranked despite being a top 10 scorer. i don't think it's unwarranted tho. Not really a winner, didn't provide much outside of scoring. What's his most famous playoff moment?

[jokeboy86]

Absolutely especially with this new era of "new media" that is rising. As more and more ex-players or "hoopers" create more podcasts or have platforms to comment and also cause of fans on social media they will counter or shout those who "didn't play" or use "analytics".

[jokeboy86]

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

Anyone who closely followed the Melo-era Nuggets will tell you this is mostly BS. Not sure why you’re defending this clip so vehemently.

There’s zero chance Denver was actively planning to trade Chauncey. George Karl loved coaching him and claims he’s his favorite player he ever coached. Chauncey is a Denver native that is beloved by the city. He wanted to stay in Denver and was vocally unhappy with the trade. He never would have been moved if Melo didn’t force his way out.

Kenyon Martin was overpaid and over the hill. He was dead weight the majority of his time in Denver due to constantly being injured. His max contract was likely the biggest barrier to the Nuggets ever building a true contender around Melo. So yeah, his contract was about to expire and they were going to let him walk, and that was objectively a GOOD thing. To imply his departure meant Denver was blowing it up just isn’t true.

And I’m not even going to get into Dahntay Jones and JR Smith as that’s already been covered by other posters. If those two were Melo’s reason to force his way to arguably the most poorly run franchise in all of professional sports, than he’s an even bigger fool than anyone has ever given him credit for.

Melo like AI before him has a lot of fans who just think that media(who never played the game) and certain fans are just haters who should never be listened too. Melo is trying to save face now because in hindsight it's now apparent to him that he probably never should've left Denver and went to NY for his career. I'm disappointed that he doesn't just say he wanted to play in NY and it was also a family decision point blank(La La'a on record of not being fond of Denver). I also think he realizes that Jokic has completely erased his time as a Nugget in Denver fans eyes and that they've moved on without ever thinking of him again. No retired number, no statue, no honor, nothing. And nothing is coming any time soon or possibly ever.

[Yeggo Poleggo]

Top 25 player of all time.

[sp6r=underrated]

He’s not rewriting any of this. The wedding was in the summer of 2010. Jones was already gone. So your narrative is busted there.

You say “there’s no way they would’ve traded Chauncey” yet they literally traded him along with Melo to rebuild. Another narrative busted. You can try to believe your conspiracy theories, but we know what really happened.

They would have kept Chauncey if Melo had stayed. Melo broke up the team.

But tell us more about Dahntay Jones.

They weren’t though. Go listen to what he said since you obviously didn’t.

There's nothing wrong with players wanting to play near where they live. He's from NYC. His wife is as well. This was about location not basketball. And that is fine.

[ShootersShoot]

He was a pretty good player. Only made it past the second round once in his career, however. Not having much playoff success will ultimately affect his legacy. Its not that he isnt a winning player, but he was really more of a #2 masquerading as a #1 his whole career. He was a perennial all star and should be in the HOF one day.

[maverick_41]

What's his most famous playoff moment?

Watch on YouTube

[RRFB]

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

Anyone who closely followed the Melo-era Nuggets will tell you this is mostly BS. Not sure why you’re defending this clip so vehemently.

There’s zero chance Denver was actively planning to trade Chauncey. George Karl loved coaching him and claims he’s his favorite player he ever coached. Chauncey is a Denver native that is beloved by the city. He wanted to stay in Denver and was vocally unhappy with the trade. He never would have been moved if Melo didn’t force his way out.

Kenyon Martin was overpaid and over the hill. He was dead weight the majority of his time in Denver due to constantly being injured. His max contract was likely the biggest barrier to the Nuggets ever building a true contender around Melo. So yeah, his contract was about to expire and they were going to let him walk, and that was objectively a GOOD thing. To imply his departure meant Denver was blowing it up just isn’t true.

And I’m not even going to get into Dahntay Jones and JR Smith as that’s already been covered by other posters. If those two were Melo’s reason to force his way to arguably the most poorly run franchise in all of professional sports, than he’s an even bigger fool than anyone has ever given him credit for.

Melo like AI before him has a lot of fans who just think that media(who never played the game) and certain fans are just haters who should never be listened too. Melo is trying to save face now because in hindsight it's now apparent to him that he probably never should've left Denver and went to NY for his career. I'm disappointed that he doesn't just say he wanted to play in NY and it was also a family decision point blank(La La'a on record of not being fond of Denver). I also think he realizes that Jokic has completely erased his time as a Nugget in Denver fans eyes and that they've moved on without ever thinking of him again. No retired number, no statue, no honor, nothing. And nothing is coming any time soon or possibly ever.

I think that’s his biggest problem. In my opinion, about half of the Nuggets fanbase has completely moved on and forgiven Melo, while the other half (along with the team/org itself) is still bitter. If Melo would just reflect honestly and openly about what actually happened, I’m confident that second group would come around and be willing to honor his legacy in some type of way. Instead for some reason he keeps trying to re-write history with quotes like this rather than rebuilding the bridge he burned on his way out of town.

[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

Anyone who closely followed the Melo-era Nuggets will tell you this is mostly BS. Not sure why you’re defending this clip so vehemently.

There’s zero chance Denver was actively planning to trade Chauncey. George Karl loved coaching him and claims he’s his favorite player he ever coached. Chauncey is a Denver native that is beloved by the city. He wanted to stay in Denver and was vocally unhappy with the trade. He never would have been moved if Melo didn’t force his way out.

Kenyon Martin was overpaid and over the hill. He was dead weight the majority of his time in Denver due to constantly being injured. His max contract was likely the biggest barrier to the Nuggets ever building a true contender around Melo. So yeah, his contract was about to expire and they were going to let him walk, and that was objectively a GOOD thing. To imply his departure meant Denver was blowing it up just isn’t true.

And I’m not even going to get into Dahntay Jones and JR Smith as that’s already been covered by other posters. If those two were Melo’s reason to force his way to arguably the most poorly run franchise in all of professional sports, than he’s an even bigger fool than anyone has ever given him credit for.

There’s nothing to defend. It’s the facts. I’m pretty sure Melo, who was the superstar on his team, knew what the front office was planning. He literally even says that. Why would he lie about this? What would he gain from lying about this? You’re not making any sense.

[3toheadmelo]

They would have kept Chauncey if Melo had stayed. Melo broke up the team.

But tell us more about Dahntay Jones.

They weren’t though. Go listen to what he said since you obviously didn’t.

There's nothing wrong with players wanting to play near where they live. He's from NYC. His wife is as well. This was about location not basketball. And that is fine.

It’s not about wanting to play for the Knicks. People are saying he “forced himself out” when he says he wanted to stay. But they wanted to rebuild instead of building off the WCF team. That’s his own words.

[sp6r=underrated]

They weren’t though. Go listen to what he said since you obviously didn’t.

There's nothing wrong with players wanting to play near where they live. He's from NYC. His wife is as well. This was about location not basketball. And that is fine.

It’s not about wanting to play for the Knicks. People are saying he “forced himself out” when he says he wanted to stay. But they wanted to rebuild instead of building off the WCF team. That’s his own words.

There is no indication they wanted to rebuild. They won 50, 47 (pro-rated for lockout and 57 games in the next 3 seasons after the Melo trade. They were still trying to win games.

Melo left because he wanted to live in NY. That's fine. The fans who think players have a duty to spend their lives in cities they don't want to live in are nuts. But at the same time there is no reason to allow a falsehood either. Everyone at the time knew this was about NYC. The direction of the Nuggets over the next 3 seasons shows it wasn't about a possible rebuild.

He wanted to live in NYC. Very reasonable. I'm stuck on the west coast right now and saving up to move back. I don't blame him

[jokeboy86]

They weren’t though. Go listen to what he said since you obviously didn’t.

There's nothing wrong with players wanting to play near where they live. He's from NYC. His wife is as well. This was about location not basketball. And that is fine.

It’s not about wanting to play for the Knicks. People are saying he “forced himself out” when he says he wanted to stay. But they wanted to rebuild instead of building off the WCF team. That’s his own words.

But unfortunately the thing that may disprove Melo's logic explaning that is why did he choose to resign with the Knicks coming off a year where they didn't make the playoffs and the team's prospects didn't look that promising? So he wanted out of Denver cause they were rebuilding but wanted to stay with a declining Knicks squad, where's the logic behind that? Melo wanted to play in NY, liked living in NY, and he and his family preferred NY and didn't want to be in Denver anymore simple as that. He's just playing it cautious because he doesn't want diss a small market and be hated indefinitely in Denver. He's the one who mentioned that his jersey should be retired in Denver, not any Nuggets fans or the organization. Now that his career is winding down he wants his time in Denver to be appreciated especially since now it's looking like the only place where he had some sustained success.

[Invictus88]

I'm sure those 1st and 2nd round playoff exits will start to shine brightly as the years go by...

How is Mitch Richmond faring these days legacy-wise? Won't that be Carmelo in 10 years?

[JujitsuFlip]

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

Anyone who closely followed the Melo-era Nuggets will tell you this is mostly BS. Not sure why you’re defending this clip so vehemently.

There’s zero chance Denver was actively planning to trade Chauncey. George Karl loved coaching him and claims he’s his favorite player he ever coached. Chauncey is a Denver native that is beloved by the city. He wanted to stay in Denver and was vocally unhappy with the trade. He never would have been moved if Melo didn’t force his way out.

Kenyon Martin was overpaid and over the hill. He was dead weight the majority of his time in Denver due to constantly being injured. His max contract was likely the biggest barrier to the Nuggets ever building a true contender around Melo. So yeah, his contract was about to expire and they were going to let him walk, and that was objectively a GOOD thing. To imply his departure meant Denver was blowing it up just isn’t true.

And I’m not even going to get into Dahntay Jones and JR Smith as that’s already been covered by other posters. If those two were Melo’s reason to force his way to arguably the most poorly run franchise in all of professional sports, than he’s an even bigger fool than anyone has ever given him credit for.

There’s nothing to defend. It’s the facts. I’m pretty sure Melo, who was the superstar on his team, knew what the front office was planning. He literally even says that. Why would he lie about this? What would he gain from lying about this? You’re not making any sense.

Is this a serious question? If he went to NYC and won a bunch of titles and went to the NBA Finals 8 times in a row and 9 times in 10 years, he would gloat about how he forced his way outta Denver.

Why lie? Bc he went to NYC and never experienced the same success he did with the team who drafted him, he has every reason to lie.

He forced his way out and made the wrong decision, oh well, he still has more money and women than he knows what to do with, good on him. His legacy suffered but he ultimately got what he wanted, to live in NYC.

[LakersLegacy]

Melo had the GOAT modern era NCAA season. And the 3 gold
Medals. That puts him up there for sure. His best season was with Billups who provides everything Melo didn’t have. Such a better fit than Iverson who was so great but very similar approach to the game as Melo.

Melo has a case against lots of the guys listed that have achieved less