Earlier this week, the Naismith Memorial Pro Basketball Hall of Fame released its list of candidates eligible for induction in 2025. Carmelo Anthony spearheaded the star-studded catalog and will likely be among those enshrined next year. It’s an honor the 10-time All-Star thoroughly deserves. He embarked on a career that many can only dream of having. However, Stephen A. Smith believes his legacy would have been even greater had he not made an error during contract negotiations in 2006.
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Melo signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension with the Nuggets, scheduled to kick in at the end of his rookie deal in 2007, with an opt-out clause in 2011. His fellow 2003 draft class members, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade also signed extensions with the Cavaliers and Heat, respectively, but negotiated an option to terminate the contract in 2010.
Smith believes Anthony should have followed suit and regrets not doing so. On The Stephen A. Smith Show, he said,
“The greatest mistake he ever made was signing that five-year contract… If Carmelo Anthony had opt out of his deal in 2010, he would have joined LeBron James and Dwayne Wade in Miami and he would have been a two-time NBA champion. I assure you of that. But because he didn’t do that, that belongs to Chris Bosh, who is the Hall of Fame and deservedly so, I might add.”
The analyst is correct in his assessment that Anthony wishes he retired with a championship win. However, he’s wrong about the forward wanting to be the third star beside James and Wade in Miami in 2010. He has addressed the issue several times and admitted he wasn’t willing to make the sacrifices that the guard and Chris Bosh made.
Carmelo Anthony reveals truth about plans to team up with LeBron and D-Wade
During an appearance on Paul George’s Podcast P, Anthony revealed that the initial plan was for him, James, and Wade to form a Big 3 and chase a championship together. However, they couldn’t come to a consensus on which city to play in. He said,
“With LeBron, it was always like, ‘Yo, we gotta make [the team up] happen. Some way, somehow, the opportunity comes, let’s make it happen.’ We just never knew where. ‘You going to New York? I ain’t going to Cleveland. You can come to Denver.'”
Anthony claimed he had no intention of leaving the Nuggets and was keen on securing his future. Hence, he signed a five-year contract extension. He also didn’t want to sign for anything less than the max, which wouldn’t have been possible had he teamed up with James and Wade. He added,
“I think one of them had to take 16 [million] and the other one 17. All of them had to really sacrifice, which I take my hat off to them for doing that because that’s hard.”
Carmelo reveals how he & LeBron almost teamed up in Chicago before the Miami Big 3 formed.
More on the full episode premiering NOW: https://t.co/imWdpkOEeR pic.twitter.com/que1r9njov
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 22, 2024
Anthony, who was scheduled to hit free agency in 2011, a year after James, Wade, and Bosh joined the Heat, signed another three-year, $65 million extension with the Nuggets in 2010. He was traded to the Knicks in February 2011 and had to compete with the trio for Eastern Conference supremacy.
Like the Heat’s Big 3, Anthony was keen on winning a championship. But unlike them, he wanted to do it on his terms, without making any sacrifices. He retired without a championship ring, or even an NBA Finals appearance. However, $260 million in salary and a future Hall of Fame induction isn’t too shabby.
