Ex-Knicks coach has interesting comments about Carmelo Anthony
Apr 8, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony (7) warms up before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Carmelo Anthony seems to have an unlikely ally.
Ex-New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson, now the head coach at Indiana University, appeared this week on SiriusXM NBA Radio. In the interview, Woodson made interesting comments about his former player Anthony.
“If I was still coaching in that league, he would be on my team,” Woodson said. “That’s just how much respect and I love I have for Carmelo Anthony and the body of work that he’s put into that league.
“Somebody might give him a shot to come back,” Woodson added. “I still think he can get you 15, 20 points a night, if he’s coming off the bench. You just gotta utilize him. I got nothing but love for Carmelo. I think he’s gotten a bad rap over the years, and I’d love to see him back in the game. I think it’s still good for the game to have him around, but only time will tell.”
Woodson coached Anthony on the Knicks for three total seasons from 2012 to 2014, resulting in two playoff appearances. While Anthony also won the lone scoring title of his career under Woodson in 2013, the two men butted heads a bit in New York, making Woodson’s remarks here a tad surprising.
Though Woodson is probably right that Anthony, who remains unsigned, can still put up points, he needs a lot of shot attempts these days to do it. Anthony has connected on just 42.1 percent of his field goals over the last five NBA seasons and has a tendency to bog down the entire offense while looking for his shot. Even last year with the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony seemed pretty tone-deaf to his own limitations. With Anthony now 38, it sounds like no NBA team wants to put up with that any more.
On the bright side for Anthony, he still has options available if he wants to continue his basketball career. In particular, there is one notable overseas opportunity awaiting Anthony right now.
