Carmelo Anthony felt belittled by how OKC Thunder dealt with him

Carmelo Anthony detailed on J.J. Redick’s podcast how he felt belittled by how the OKC Thunder dealt with him after he sacrificed the most of the OK3.

It’s not often you hear anything negative about the OKC Thunder organization or front office. The executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti, is often cited as one of the top three at his position. But that’s precisely what former Thunder star Carmelo Anthony implied when he appeared on J.J. Redick’s podcast – The Old Man and Three.

Anthony detailed his feelings about playing for the OKC Thunder and how the trio of Russell Westbrook and Paul George better known as the OK3 underachieved but felt with just one season under their belts they’d improve in year two.

During the podcast, Anthony details the events leading up to him learning the team would not run it back and that it was him who would be the odd man out. The most interesting part of the conversation was that Billy Donovan was the person who reached out to him. That in itself was a bit of an oddity as you would expect Presti to be the one to make that call.

Anthony felt belittled by how OKC Thunder dealt with him

Anthony notes how Donovan said, “I don’t think it’s going to work“.  When Anthony tried to dive in deeper to learn why they were jumping from the OK3 after just one season Donovan’s first question was whether he’d be willing to come off the bench.

Donovan went on to state the team wanted Jerami Grant starting and how the trio wasn’t working. Throughout his tenure in OKC, Melo was cited as being a very easy player to work with by both teammates and Donovan. The one variable was his absolute refusal to come off the bench.

Ultimately, it was understandable why the Thunder would move Melo since his contract was far too rich for a reserve player especially when OKC was already mired in luxury tax.  Yet again, an interesting tidbit offered up by the forward was that he had been willing to rework his contract.

"I already knew I was up against it from a luxury tax standpoint. I knew I was going to have to figure out I was going to have to do — I knew I was owed $27 or $28 that year – – so I knew I was going to have to revamp my contract or you know just get a new deal. — I was willing to figure it out."

It became clear to Anthony this wasn’t a negotiation it was already decided. With that, he implored Donovan to send him somewhere he wanted to go (read – a competitive team).

"“I think you need to start looking elsewhere (Donovan told him). I felt so belittled. Like damn is it me? AmI doing something wrong because I’m the one who really, really sacrificed on that team. And I was with it. I went to the coach and told him, let me know what you need me to do. I’m willing to do it to help the team.’”"

In hindsight, none of the statements Donovan made were that surprising since Grant was a far better defender and in the postseason near the end of the first-round series versus the Utah Jazz, Donovan was forced to sit Anthony to have the more defensive-minded Grant on the court.

The eventual trade with the Atlanta Hawks resulted in the Thunder shaving significant money off their luxury tax bill ($60 million) and netted a return of a player (Dennis Schroder) who wasn’t averse to coming off the bench and was economically a better fit.

For Anthony, the resulting impact of that trade took a large toll. The Hawks bought him out and waived him and he signed with the Rockets. He played only 10 games and was released by Houston. Then Melo spent the remainder of the season and a good portion of this past season in purgatory unsigned and looking like his career may be over.

Then this season, Portland in desperate need of frontcourt help took a shot on him and he was effective as a starter for the Blazers.

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While it’s interesting to discover how this situation between the OKC Thunder and Anthony played out the more compelling part of the equation is how Presti and his proxy Donovan dealt with the issue.

It’s just a guess but the fact Donovan was the one to break the news to Melo might be telling. It’s possible Donovan was the one pushing to move Anthony and given that fact Presti assigned him with the task of telling him.

Also noteworthy in the podcast is how much Carmelo Anthony liked being in Oklahoma City and enjoyed his time with the team and in the city. A fact cemented by his touching farewell letter to the fans. 

With Donovan gone and Presti never releasing details of this nature it’s unlikely we’ll ever get to the bottom of what occurred behind the scenes from their side of the equation.

In the end, everything did work out based on the reduction of the luxury tax and landing Schroder who immediately fit into the Thunder system. While Anthony suffered the most his return to the association this season is one of the better storylines of the year.