Carmelo Anthony on the Nets is a Really Bad Idea

Reading the news, and then watching sports last night, I saw that KD and Kyrie want the Nets to sign Carmelo Anthony.

I mean, come on with this nonsense man.

Yes, Carmelo won't be the distraction that Dwight Howard will be in LA, and he can still shoot the ball fairly well , and he is better than a lot of dudes currently in the NBA, but his time is done. While he won't be a distraction, we have seen the past 2 years how he has acted, and played, when he isn't the first option. He was a dud in OKC. He never put it together, and when asked if he would come off the bench, to be instant offense, which is what the Thunder needed at the time, he scoffed and said he "wasn't a bench player". And in Houston last year he was a total disaster. He did not shoot the three well, something he has never really been that good at, he was horrific defensively, even worse than usual for him, and he was released from the team, I think, less than 20 games into the season.

Carmelo would not opt to be a bench guy, or the third, fourth or fifth option on Brooklyn this year, and KD isn't even playing this year. Guys like Kyrie and Caris Levert and Jarrett Allen, and hell, even Joe Harris, I'd want them all to shoot before Carmelo would. And next season, they have KD coming back. He would have to opt for the bench, and if you listen to former players, guys I really respect like Chauncey Billups, Carmelo won't go for that because he has a "I need to get mine" mentality. He would rather score 30 and lose than come off the bench, play 15 minutes, score 10-12 points and win, and possibly even compete for a title. He wants to get buckets first and foremost, and the Nets already have enough established guys, and young up and coming guys, that can do that better than he can right now.

This isn't to say that he can't still shoot though. I have watched so many offseason videos of NBA players playing pickup basketball games, and Carmelo has been heavily featured in said videos. And he is putting the ball in the basket, and even dunking with relative ease. What I don't see him doing much in these very loose games, shooting the three. He has always been a great mid range shooter. Hell, he is one of the better mid range shooters the league has ever had. But that is such a non entity in the modern NBA. Other teams will let him shoot all the mid range jumpers he wants, and then they will come down, find the man he is guarding, give him the ball, and that guy will shoot a pull up three on him, or take him to the basket with ease. What the people watching these offseason work out videos, myself included, don't fully realize is, there is little to no defense being played. Like at all. I play rec basketball, and I play a ton of pickup basketball, and those games are strictly exercise for some, and a chance to shoot a ton of open jumpers for others. There is no real emphasis put into playing defense. Just look at what Devin Booker said when a few guys tried to double team him in one of his pickup games. So Carmelo is facing pretty much zero defense. These videos are ostensibly a highlight reel. They are made to make him look good. When, or if, the Nets sign him, he will have to try and do this stuff against real NBA players, playing real defense. We saw how that went in OKC and Houston.

Finally, he is better, or has been better, than a good amount of players in the NBA right now. If I had to choose, I'd rather have Carmelo over guys like Dwight Howard, Luke Kennard, Reggie Jackson, Kyle Singler, Richaun Holmes, Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook, Nik Stauskas(is he still in the league?), JJ Barea or Markelle Fultz, to name a few. But, all those guys are busts, or on their way out. Instead of going after Carmelo, I'd look in the G League or overseas for a younger, and more willing to play a bench role, player.

Carmelo was once great. In Denver, he was awesome, and his first few years as a Knick were solid. But, he totally fell off a cliff, and now, he just isn't what he used to be. Also, the Nets have this great young core, and they just added KD, Kyrie and Deandre Jordan. I don't want them to bring in Carmelo because he is buddies with Kyrie and KD and have him take away valuable playing time from the younger guys that played really well last year, and will continue to get better with more playing time. It's not fair to them. Also, the Nets have a younger, and better defensively, version of Carmelo already in Spencer Dinwiddie.

I hope the Nets don't sign him, and if I really look at it rationally, I don't think they will. If they do, it will be a headache for them. I say one more time, just ask OKC and Houston. I'm sorry Carmelo, you used to be one of my favorite players to watch, but you are washed now. That's the truth.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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