Just when you thought he couldn't be a bigger dick

[the_cynic]

ESPN Link

I'm not saying I'm the greatest player in the world, but I've never sat on nobody's bench.

[Nick 1733]

As a die-hard Nuggets fan, and a BIG Carmelo fan, I am VERY unhappy with his actions and comments of late. I can agree with him a LITTLE, he didn't get to play enough in Olympic play but I DO NOT condone or approve of his comments.

All I can say is he is 20 years old and hopefully this is a one time deal with him.

[the_cynic]

I found this quote on another board about him too.

Carmelo Anthony is a disgrace. After complaining about not playing, he's forced shots and passes, and played only imaginary defense when he took the court against both Greece and Australia. He belongs right where Larry Brown has put him ? on the bench. But even when he's glued to the pines, Anthony is embarrassing himself and his country. AI was taking a blow when the U.S. was trailing Australia by double-digits, and he showed his competitive intensity and his fiery disappointment by cursing after the Aussies scored again.

Meanwhile, two seats away, Anthony was laughing. Also, after the final horn, Anthony had to be forcefully summoned by Stephon Marbury to join the traditional postgame camaraderie between the two teams.

[Mac the Knife]

What kind of cheese goes with that whine... brie, perhaps?

[RyanB06]

All the more reason USA Basketball needs to seriously re-examine this whole "Dream Team" concept. Let's get some guys who want to be there on the team for 2008, shall we? If that means go get 12 college guys, then so be it. Enough of the whiny millionaires' club, huh?

[CaolinaJoe]

All the more reason USA Basketball needs to seriously re-examine this whole "Dream Team" concept. Let's get some guys who want to be there on the team for 2008, shall we? If that means go get 12 college guys, then so be it. Enough of the whiny millionaires' club, huh?

There is no "Dream Team" anymore. None of these guys is considered on of the 50 greatest players, let alone 5 of them. There was only one, the first one. The other teams have been just what every other country has tried to assemble, the best players they have. Maybe if people stop thinking of them as a "Dream Team" every year their expectations might be a little more realistic. Anyone who knows basketball could look at this team, analyze it, and know they were going to have problems. To real basketball fans the result wasn't a surprise. To the casual fan who thinks, every olympic BB team has Jordan, Bird, Johnson, Barkley, & Drexler, it was a huge defeat. Newsflash- those guys are all old, retired and don't play anymore!

Anthony's response is exactly what you would expect from a 20 year old who has been since he was a little kid how great he is. He's never been in a position where he wasn't the "Star" or go to guy, let alone a roll player. This is what society wants and encourages, controversy. These young kids don't have the experience of handling the press. I wonder how much experience the reporter who interviewed him had in asking questions to get the responses.

You can't bring a group of young, mega millionaire, head cases together and expect them to play as a team and win. Want an example, look no farther than the LA Lakers. That's whats wrong with the teams, heads not talent.

[pcgd]

4. Within the next two weeks, either LeBron or Carmelo will come out and slam Larry Brown for the way he coached the team in Athens, followed by at least 3-4 other players joining suit, leading to a national story, capped off by LeBron saying something along the lines of "Let's just say I'm looking forward to our first game against the Pistons."

Bill Simmons Said that in his new Column, The Gut Feeling Du Jour. He predicted this! Just thought I'd mention it.

The Sports Guy

[rmered]

This guy is what I see as the typical NBA player.

Now I'm coming from a long way away, and really, if ESPN Asia don't show it, I don't see it, but this seems to be the typical attitude of basketballers.

I remember when I lived in Vancouver, they had an early draft pick and picked Steve Francis. To say he was disappointed would be an understatement.

So much for the team being bigger than the individual. He demanded a trade, which they eventally gave. Now they play in Memphis. Good riddance.

Basketball seems to be about the individual.

We have a saying a champion team will beat a team of champions every time.

And the NBA seems full of champion players, with more interest in self promotion, than being part of a champion team.

You might disagree. But from here, that's the way it seems to me.

(Plus it's a girl sport, they should allow tackling if these guys want to puff themselves up as the he-men they make themselves out to be)

[pcgd]

This guy is what I see as the typical NBA player.

Now I'm coming from a long way away, and really, if ESPN Asia don't show it, I don't see it, but this seems to be the typical attitude of basketballers.

I remember when I lived in Vancouver, they had an early draft pick and picked Steve Francis. To say he was disappointed would be an understatement.

So much for the team being bigger than the individual. He demanded a trade, which they eventally gave. Now they play in Memphis. Good riddance.

Basketball seems to be about the individual.

We have a saying a champion team will beat a team of champions every time.

And the NBA seems full of champion players, with more interest in self promotion, than being part of a champion team.

You might disagree. But from here, that's the way it seems to me.

(Plus it's a girl sport, they should allow tackling if these guys want to puff themselves up as the he-men they make themselves out to be)

dude...not arguements. I'd say you got a pretty good handle on it. This is why Basketball sucks. Once they get above Jr. high, basketball players take on a different attitude. Its no longer about team, its now about them. Doesn't happen too bad with baseball, happens a little with football, hockey if it does I've never noticed.

I used to like the NBA. Now if I watch, I'll watch the college game, but that's losing interest to me as well. Players only stay around for a year, maybe 2. Oh well.

[Mings]

now baseball is really a team sport, which is why I watch it a lot. you could say that with barry bonds going for all these records, that he is just playing for himself. that might be the case, but he still helps the team. its wierd, cause now most people walk him, so he has an ungodly amount of walks, and the thing is the giants are more likely to score after hes been walked, than with hime hitting lol.

[rmered]

My kids play baseball, though I only played cricket.

Baseball is a great team sport, and it seems drummed into the players that the team is bigger than the individual.

Imagine if Hockey players started talking like this bloke.

"I don't wanna play your way, I wanna play my way."

There'd be a queue of guys ready to take to him, and the fans wouldn't even boo the opponent who caught up with him.

[See Red]

Can't say I really blame Carmelo Anthony. He's a better player than Lamar Odom, and he's certainly better than Carlos Boozer. Both players who got FAR more time than either of those too. He's a better shooter than either of them, too. I feel that if Larry Brown can bench a player just because he's sick of asking questions on why his team passed him up in the last draft, then Carmelo can b**** about not getting to play because of that. That's how I feel, maybe you're all just not used to how these multi-millionares act. And to whoever compared Carmelo to Iverson in the Australia game in terms of how they reacted -- just quit with that comparison. We've seen the same thing out of AI. "Practice? Practice?"

And I must respectfully disagree with Caolina Joe on a point --

You can't bring a group of young, mega millionaire, head cases together and expect them to play as a team and win. Want an example, look no farther than the LA Lakers. That's whats wrong with the teams, heads not talent.

That wasn't the problem with the Lakers. They brought in two veteran players, taking pay cuts, willing to do any role for the team. They won when it was just the two headcases. You can bring a bunch of Superstars, you just can't expect larry Brown to coach em'. He's never been the type of player that's been able to balance out the egos. He's good at taking one 'superstar' and getting the guys around him to step it up. They needed a coach like Phil Jackson. He has experience balancing egos.