Hall of Fame Former Blazer Rejected Free Agent Comeback Offer

The ex-Portland standout hung up his sneakers a bit earlier than he had to.

February 15, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Eastern Conference forward Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks (7) dunks against Western Conference center Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies (33) and forward LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers (12) during the second half of the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. The West defeated the East 163-158. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Former Portland Trail Blazers power forward Carmelo Anthony revealed on a recent episode of his podcast "7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony & Kid Mero" that he had an offer to suit up for a former club in 2022-23, which would have been his 20th pro season.

Although the Denver Nuggets brought in the 6-foot-7 stretch power forward/small forward with the third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Syracuse, he is perhaps most associated with the New York Knicks. Anthony forced a trade to his childhood team halfway through the 2010-11 season (ahead of his unrestricted free agency), and played for New York through the 2016-17 season.

"We sat down and had a real conversation. 'Listen, here's a spot. You can be on the team tomorrow, but this is the spot," Anthony revealed. "The not knowing of when you're going to play and not play — I'd rather not go through that," Anthony said. "I'm [going to] bow out gracefully... Basketball ain't the issue. I can't do that. That's a hell of a decline. When I look at it overall, the overall big picture, that's a hell of a decline. So I just had to stand on that. No disrespect, but I can't accept that."

Anthony's acquisition unfortunately cost New York many of its best role players, and the team didn't even get out of the first round for its first two seasons, despite fielding two multi-time All-Stars in Anthony and Ama're Stoudemire. By 2012-13, however, New York really hit its stride. The Knicks went 54-28 under head coach Mike Woodson, good for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Anthony was named an All-Star and All-NBA Second Teamer, while logging a career-high 28.7 points on a .452/.402/.848 slash line. He also notched averages of 6.9 boards, 2.6 assists and 0.8 steals per game. Armed with a pair of former Dallas Mavericks champions, 2011-12 Defensive Player of the Year center Tyson Chandler and former 10-time All-Star point guard Jason Kidd, the Knicks made it to the second round in the East, where they were felled by the New York Knicks.

Anthony would never reach the playoffs with New York again. He was eventually traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, along with fellow future Hall of Famers Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

Even though Anthony opted not to re-join New York, the Knicks enjoyed a terrific run in 2022-23, finishing with a 47-35 record and reaching the second round for the first time since Anthony did it a decade prior.

A 10-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA honoree, Anthony averaged 22.5 points on .447/.355/.814 shooting splits, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks a night, across 1,260 regular season games, starting 1,120 of them.

By the time landed in Portland in 2019-20, Anthony had fully embraced his role as a floor-spacing bench cog. Across his two seasons with the club, from 2019-21, Anthony averaged 14.3 points on .425/.399/.867 shooting splits, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks a night. He finished seventh in Sixth Man of the Year voting while on the 2020-21 Blazers, who went 42-30 in a COVID-19-shortened season and finished with the Western Conference's sixth seed.

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