Carmelo Anthony Once Scoffed at Charles Barkley For Belittling His Free Agency Decision, ‘I Don’t Listen To That Guy

Carmelo Anthony made it clear that he wasn’t letting Charles Barkley or anyone influence his decisions when it came to free agency 

Charles Barkley has never been one to mince his words when on ‘Inside the NBA’. The reason as to why he got a near $200 million extension from Turner Sports to come back for the next decade was just this as everybody knows having an unfiltered Chuck on air makes for incredible entertainment. 

In one instance during the start of the 2013-14 NBA season, Barkley would be asked to comment on Carmelo Anthony saying he would like to be a free agent in the coming offseason. Chuck immediately went off on the subject, claiming he could’ve waited to make his views on free agency public. 

The former All-NBA power forward essentially wanted Melo to lure talent to the New York Knicks rather than put out there that he’s open to perhaps joining another team.

Also read: Charles Barkley Could be a Part of Phoenix Suns $4 Billion Acquisition Saying “If Barack Obama called me, hell yeah I’d buy the Suns!”

Carmelo Anthony responded to Barkley’s comments 

Carmelo Anthony never explicitly stated that he wanted out of New York. He said he wanted to test out the free agency market when it came to the 2014 offseason. So, when Charles Barkley came at him on ‘Inside the NBA’, Anthony brushed his comments aside. 

“I don’t listen to that guy, not at all. I don’t care about doubters. I really don’t to be honest with you. The free agency- that’s not dangling over my head. I’ll deal with that in the offseason when that time comes,” said the future Hall-of-Fame forward. 

After flirtations with the Chicago Bulls all summer long in 2014, he would eventually go back to the New York Knicks on a 5 year contract worth $124 million. This is an amount of money the Bulls simply could not match, leading to them bowing out of the Melo sweepstakes. 

Carmelo Anthony after the Knicks 

Merely 3 years after signing that 5-year contract, the Knicks traded Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder during training camp in 2017. Melo would then find himself on the Atlanta Hawks (would never play a game for them), the Houston Rockets, and then the Portland Trailblazers for two seasons. 

His final stint in the NBA came with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside his draft mate, LeBron James, in 2021-22. Currently, the 38 y/o is without a team.

Also read: Shaquille O’Neal Hilariously Bets Charles Barkley $10,000 That he Couldn’t Spell ‘Spectacular’