Carmelo Anthony season review – Aging superstar at career precipice

Big decisions this Summer

Much has already been made of Carmelo Anthony and his offseason options pertaining to his tenure with the OKC Thunder. The Thunder may have to buy out his approximate 28 million dollar contact. Ideally the team would make a trade, but it is largely up to him, as his no-trade clause is still in place.

His team preferences likely have not changed, meaning he would like to go to Houston or Cleveland (IF LeBron stays). There could be other options, but after his least-productive season, the 33 year old swingman may not appeal to many organizations for his hefty price.

The unwillingness to adjust his role and disappointing production will have the Thunder looking for ways to part with Carmelo. TI has dissected the best postseason outcome for shedding Anthony as well.

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Offseason homework for Melo

Carmelo Anthony’s number one priority this Summer is deciding how to handle his future in the NBA. He may wait to see how the postseason and LeBron’s “Decision II” pan out.

If he does stay in OKC, he is going to have to become more open-minded about his role on the team. He refuses to come off the bench, which shows that he is disinterested in team success. If he remains a starter, it must be in title only.

Working on catch-and-shoot situations will continue to aid him in his role alongside Westbrook and (possibly) George. If he is a nominal starter that gets most of his minutes with the second unit, he may be able to get back to his old self.

2017/18 performance evaluation

This was the worst season of Carmelo Anthony’s NBA career. He and PG13 were expected to form a fierce trio with Russell Westbrook to challenge the Western Conference elite. They wound up finishing similarly to last season.

Some statistical decline was expected for for each of the OK3. This occurred, but in a few unfortunate areas for Anthony. His three point proficiency remained decent, but the two point and free throw dips were a large detriment.

Part of the decline may be age, but part is also that he depends on volume to produce. He is no George or Westbrook, so the only way for him to obtain more volume is alongside the second unit. He has refused that role, so what now?

Melo brought inefficient scoring to the Thunder in what wound up being a disappointing big three experiment. His veteran leadership was offset by his unwillingness to adjust his role for the betterment of the team.