Carmelo Anthony Reveals 'I Didn't Have a Role in OKC' on Paul George Podcast

The Oklahoma City Thunder forward reveals he didn't have a role upon being traded to Bricktown. Carmelo Anthony breaks down what happened on Paul George's podcast.

Mar 2, 2018; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Carmelo Anthony (7) and forward Paul George (13) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Sept 26, 2017, is a date that the Oklahoma City Thunder faithful will never forget. Top executive Sam Presti pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal that landed future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony in Bricktown after the superstar waived his no-trade clause to allow a swap with New York to go through that sent the Knicks Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round pick.

This swap signaled that the OKC Thunder were serious about contending. In the wake of Kevin Durant departing for Golden State, the Thunder organization had felt true heartbreak for the first time. However, Russell Westbrook's commitment to the franchise and historic MVP season quickly mended things for a scorned fanbase - though the Thunder were not legitimate contenders despite the point guard's best efforts.

The following offseason, Presti retooled around his franchise cornerstone pulling off a stunning trade for Paul George who many thought was bound for Los Angeles just months before landing Anthony. This formed a big three - or OK3, if you will.

Though, it was not all sunshine and rainbows en route to 48 wins things were always a bit clunky seeing Oklahoma City drop games to lesser squads but still able to capture home court advantage against the Utah Jazz in the first round as the No. 4 seed before being sent packing by Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell.

Utah forced Oklahoma City to pivot yet again as Anthony and the franchise parted ways that Summer despite George and Westbrook giving it one last try in Bricktown. However, the Hall of Famer revealed that he loved his time in OKC despite the hurdles he had to jump through.

The NBA veterans dished on their time together in Oklahoma City on the latest episode of George's podcast.

"I didn’t have no role in OKC, no role it was “Melo you gon figure it out” and I was like nah I can’t figure [expletive] out. what you want me to do. I’m taking darts and I’m the 4th [option] on the team. I still know what I can do, let’s keep this [expletive] going," Anthony recounted on George's Podcast.

After flaming out in the postseason, Anthony went on his way and turned into the ideal role for his Thunder stint elsewhere.

"They wanted me to come off the bench and shift my contract, I was ready to come off the bench the next season. We lost in the playoffs and they looked at us crazy. We get 3 years together who knows what happens," Anthony reminisced.

Though, the retired veteran was not the only member of the team who had issues with how things were handled. George agreed with Anthony that the process could've been handled differently.

"I thought the whole process was rushed, I was expecting that we were building something here. We got a trio, we saw what it look like, now we got a full training camp next year. I just thought it was rushed and too soon. We were only 1 year in," George reflected.

Perhaps this was a bit of revisionist history but it is the way the players themselves viewed things. These all-in moves were always a gamble, but one Presti had to take to try to keep his star happen and prove the team was still serious about contending after Durant left.

In part, these moves helped the Thunder retain George an additional season where he finished third in MVP voting then fetched a historic return on the trade market to send him to LaLa Land and start the organization down the rebuilding path which has led them to being the Western Conference favorites heading into the 2024-25 season.

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