King of New York for a day! Or with all the King’s men in L.A.?
Houston…we have a buyout. Who knows where former billionaire Basketball club boy Carmelo Anthony will end up. But one thing’s for sure. His time with the Houston Rockets is all about over before it even had chance to take off like, “Go for main engine start”.
T-Minus.
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‘Melo is about to be waived in what already seems like a foregone conclusion, but should be quicker than Coach D’Antoni’s presser response to a reporter asking him if the cold he caught was the same thing Anthony had. To which he quickly and curtly responded with as much droll, “it’s going round…and you’re not funny by the way” (in what actually makes for the funniest press conference since the one in the Queen biography movie ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ where Freddie Mercury was ducking and dodging questions about his health. Whereas the Ringo of the band John Deacon (played perfectly by who else but Joseph Mazzello…’Human Piece Of Toast”, Tim from ‘Jurassic Park’) openly admitted he had been suffering from the flu if anyone was interested. Or when LeBron stormed out in suit shorts, shades and a handbag like suitcase following J.R. Smith’s open arms, Game 1 gaff, delay of play). And whilst all this is STILL being dragged out longer than new Sixer Jimmy Butler’s service to player power revolt, Carmelo Anthony’s Hall of Fame name is being dragged through the mud by everyone who isn’t throwing him under the team bus.
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Just two years ago in Rio. Olympic ‘Melo. The Gold Medal three-peat legend was being praised for being an amazing athlete on sports and arguably basketball today’s biggest stage. For all the Dream Team talent he was surrounded with. Durant, Draymond (oh hey guys! You want to talk about being a bad teammate people? Don’t pass on this like Kobe!) and Klay just to name a few Warriors for the boys from Brazil. It was the Ant-Man not named Anthony Davis, Carmelo himself who was a nightmare for the opposition. Putting everything away, whilst other human torches (hello Mr. Thompson) burnt out like the Olympic flame during it’s four year hiatus (passive aggressive sure I’m sorry. But don’t those quotes tell you to fight fire with exactly that?). If there was an MVP this ‘Player Of The Tournament’ would have got it.
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But today memes are going round like GIFs on Facebook feeds hungry for what’s funny, of fake Ticketmaster “prove you’re not a robot” captcha’s of a basketball backboard stating, “click every panel where Carmelo Anthony’s three pointers land”. With every board but the basket ticked. Alright…I’ll admit it, I stifled a laugh. I’m sorry. But it just means the jokes funny, not necessarily the subject.
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Just a year ago. People where going Stan HAM for the going hard in the gym, basket to basket “Hoodie ‘Melo”. So much so Nike incorporated it in it’s on court practice apparel. And not just for the man joining Russell Westbrook and Paul George for a OK3 big-three in Oklahoma City for the Thunder, which ended up more umbrella than reign. Even video games in this 2K age made a hooded Carmelo in the game like EA’s NBA Live.
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But now on the same internet that’s trolling one of the greats when it’s not debating where he’ll land like a roll of the dice on a Monopoly board, video game videos are being made of him bricking every shot in sight. Open or otherwise. As the captions range from, “live footage of ‘Melo in a Rockets jersey” to stuff far more disrespectful. But remember as much as you gamers wish it was, that s### ain’t real.
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The jersey joke shared between the team Anthony never played for, the Atlanta Hawks and him was light hearted and in good sport of humour, not truth in jest. But this…THIS is more than the shame of never seeing him getting his talons into suiting up with Vince Carter and soaring with the fellow father time, still going strong legend in the A. This is getting out of hand. Sure the Rockets have had a tad failure to launch this season like when McConaughey still did rom-coms before ‘True Detective’ and ‘Lincoln Lawyer’s’ showed up with a subpoena and number 15 can’t quite take off like he used to. But Houston’s problems are more than one man. Harden isn’t having an MVP year like his last…yet. CP3 is getting slower with age. And this team lost the most underrated X-Factor in the history of the L, Trevor Ariza. But to call Carmelo a cancer? You really going to scapegoat someone who may not be a G.O.A.T. but is pretty close to that barn?
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For one. He wasn’t born in July. It was a day in late May. Which makes him a Gemini. Some say that Zodiac sign makes you two-faced. But my sister’s a Gemini and a former flame too, so say something. And I’m a Cancer too. But let’s stop using in the name of health such a destructive and dark word for something like the love of the game or human nature. Like being called toxic in a Twitter trolling trend of that being actual toxicity in itself. When you don’t know all the facts perhaps it’s time to reassess and not retweet. You have no idea what this sort of stuff does to people. We hold court in defending music and movie stars no matter how they act, so why are ballplayers fair game? Are they supposed to be made of tougher stuff? Haven’t we already addressed this toxic masculinity? Have we not learned from he heart of Kevin Love? Wasn’t it ‘World Kindness Day’ yesterday? Hash-tag, you have to like that.
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And it’s more than this mere writer coming to social media defence of ‘Melo against all the memes and actual cancerous comments. From Draft class wine friends, retirement tour Dwyane Wade to still in his prime, LeBron James in retweet with emoji comment. Even mouthpiece commentator Steven “CAPITAL A” Smith is preaching positivity. Don’t fall for this guy being made the fall guy. Even if everyone in Houston and the surrounding areas has a problem. Sometimes like every relationship, people, or maybe even circumstances aren’t a good fit in that moment. Sometimes it’s just not the right time. It’s not a sign to give way to giving up right into hate (again…he’s no cancer…in more ways than one. He even once brought a damn car for Christmas for an actual cancer patient). Especially where there was once love there. Parting ways can be amicable and more than ‘for the social media, press impressing’, kind words and tweets of well wishes. Which are for at least one thing better than the other way it all troll scrolls and Twitter spirals out of self-control. Did we forget what happened in the ATL following his short Jermaine and Luda welcome to Atlanta? Passing through like it was a short stopover, crossover connection at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, before taking off again.
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But where will ‘Melo land? Portland and Philly (now if you think Anthony’s bad for a team but Butler is a great serve, then maybe we all need to take a stop, look and think again approach to these big ballers) are interested. Miami maybe too, with Wade for the first and one last time? Or is there room for him in the King’s Hollywood castle as a Los Angeles Laker as the franchise wanted two summers back? Failing to lure the free agent with a Spider-Man narrated Marvel of a video pitch (The Petey Spidey in question being, Tobey Maguire. Wrong Parker, Peter…now if you want to talk toxic that guys really something. You seen Jessica Chastain’s ‘Molly’s Game’? Yeah, read the real book. Michael Cera’s character is actually him). But in joining the man he was drafted alongside (save Darko) like “whose better” (sure, like Chris Rock said about “whose better”? Prince or Michael Jackson? “Prince won” like the King who dressed up as him one Halloween), with two teams that even traded up on their threads for these new identities. The New York legend who didn’t skip college to cut down nets with Syracuse years before joining other orangemen, could follow hometown hero Tyson Chandler and be a part of this great youth/veteran mix shaping up in Los “Ageless”. Being another former All-Star option like Stephenson, Beasley and Rondo (they didn’t believe Rajon’s comments about CP3 did they? So why the bad press for his (former) teammate?) that could help mentor the Ingram, Kuzma, Hart and Ball future of the club. Hey, the Denver (you remember the Nelly lyric, “I’m a Nugget type of fellow/I push the Carmelo”? THAT’S how long ago it was) and Knick legend could even end up back in New York like Iverson in Philly. Answering the end of his career back. Kissing the 76ers logo a fond farewell. Part of this writers New York vacation tradition in his twenties was to check in to a hotel a walk across the road in a bathrobe away from Madison Square Garden and check out Carmelo and the N.Y.K. (so much so I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve been…Knicks AND New York). Let’s give this guy a year removed from being the greatest Knick since King or Ewing one more chance like B.I.G. He may actually just come off the bench, but he’ll play his role like a superstar. Sure Tracy McGrady says he should just retire. But T-Mac knows all about the troubles of fading into father-time. Once trying to attempt his own comeback with the Lakers again. He should sympathize. This guy may get bounced around and for sure the clocks ticking. But did you forget what he’s like with the ball in a buzzer beating situation like that?
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