What execs really think of Melo

[jonathanlambert33]

In this ESPN Insider article (subscription only), Chris Broussard interviews four anonymous NBA executives on the subject of the Knicks star. And the results aren't glowing.

One executive characterizes Melo as a "winner" but believes he developed too many bad habits early in his professional career.

I like Melo. I like that he competes. He obviously can score at a high level. People forget that when he got drafted by Denver, the Nuggets had won 17 games the year before. And he immediately turned them into a playoff team and took them to the playoffs every year he was there. He took a 17-win team and led them to 43 wins. So he can win and make a team better. I think his problem is that he went to Denver, which was a dysfunctional franchise at that time, so he picked up some bad habits and didn't learn what it takes to really win in this league. If he had gone to a better organization with a truly professional environment coming out of the gate, he would have learned and been more professional. He won big in college (leading Syracuse to the National Championship in 2003). He won big in high school at Oak Hill. He's been a winner all his life.

The other three executives were far less complimentary of Melo's ability to win in the NBA.

From Exec No. 2:

He's a great player, but he's also a selfish player. That's just how he is. I don't think he'll look at himself in the mirror and say, "What am I not doing? What am I doing that's keeping us from winning?"

From Exec No. 3:

I actually think that, for whatever reason, Melo's always gotten a pass. At the end of the day, he's been in the league long enough where, if he was really a winner and about winning, he'd have figured it out by now. He's had enough time to do that now.

From Exec No. 4:

I love him as a player. I just don't think he's your alpha male. He can't be your No. 1 guy. He's kind of like Clyde Drexler. As the alpha male in Portland, Clyde never got over the top. But when he went to Houston and was the No. 2 guy to Hakeem Olajuwon, he won. Melo's too much about himself to be the No. 1 guy.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9975137/nba-do-team-executives-really-think-carmelo-anthony

 

[BwareDWare94]

I firmly believe that Carmelo Anthony will be forgotten in twenty years because of his selfishness, as are most players that never do anything relevant when it comes to hardware.
 
Now, rings are a ridiculous measurement in such a top heavy league, but he should have been closer than he has been, so far in his career. It's not like he's TMac, who never had a real supporting cast when he was healthy. Once he had a real team around him, his body went to shit .

Melo's been healthy. Melo's had very nice teams around him, and he doesn't even sniff real contention. That says enough. 

 

[Giantmetfan07]

It's not like the coaching in NY has helped him turn the tide. If you watch, when it comes to crunch time Woodson's game plan is "GIVE THE BALL TO MELO AND EVERYONE GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY". 
 
Tough to beat the defense when the plan is so obvious. And that's not so much as a defense of Melo because I see it so many times where he gets the ball in his hands past the 3 pt line with 18 seconds to go in the 2nd quarter and he's dribbling around trying to make a move for the rest of the playclock,  and that's unacceptable. 
 
But the coaching hasn't helped either. I want him to change so badly but I just don't see it happening anymore.  He has the talent to change and become a team-player but he simply chooses not to.