Carmelo Anthony's time with the Knicks can be characterized in many ways. Yet, he'll forever be remembered for bravely standing within the chaos that surrounded the franchise.
During an interview with the Daily News, Anthony explained that he wanted the burden of carrying a historic franchise.
"I wanted it. It was something I wanted. I wanted to take that challenge on. Whether I failed at it or not I wanted to be able to say that I did it," Anthony said. "I took it upon myself to say, ‘Get me there.’ I wanted that challenge. Not everybody has that same mentality."
Anthony was the Knicks' solo superstar as they battled against three-headed monsters in both Boston and Miami. Those teams ended up winning championships as the Knicks just could not escape dysfunction. This is something Kevin Durant alluded to when explaining why he chose Brooklyn over the Knicks.
"I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players who, in their lifetime, don’t remember the Knicks being good," Durant said to Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning. "I’ve seen the Knicks in the Finals, but kids coming up after me didn’t see that. That whole brand of the Knicks to them is not as cool as let’s say the Golden State Warriors or even the Lakers or the Nets now... The cool thing right now is not the Knicks."
Anthony told the Daily News that he can understand where KD's sentiments are coming from. But to him, the comments only further exemplify the different mentality that separates him from other players.
"I don’t think it surprised me (that Durant and Irving didn’t want to play for the Knicks). We all read Durant’s quotes. We know what he said," 'Melo said. "Whether you agree with him or not, that just goes to show you people have different perspectives about it. It’s not always — ‘Oh, that’s the Knicks and we’re going to get somebody, it’s a guarantee.’ Nowadays players are not thinking about that. Players want to be able to go to a situation where they can enjoy it, have fun and not have to deal with that."
He added to this by touching on the attention that comes with playing in a market like New York City for a staple franchise like the Knicks.
"I mean, not everybody can deal with that. Not even just talking about a star, I mean regular player, role guys, just players — a lot of people can’t deal with that," he continued. "There’s not too many people who can deal with what comes with that. I don’t want to say it’s pressure, just everything that comes along with wearing the Knicks across your chest."
