Carmelo Anthony Discusses Recruitment of Kevin Durant
New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony will have an opportunity to play alongside newest Golden State Warrior Kevin Durant on Team USA in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. But that's as close as he'll get to having him as a teammate after Durant's free-agent drama saw him go to the defending Western Conference champions after taking meetings in the Hamptons with numerous teams out on Long Island, New York.
On Tuesday, Anthony spoke with Marc Berman of the New York Post about his recruitment of Durant for the Knicks in June, who did not have a meeting with him and stressed that the former Oklahoma City Thunder man shouldn't receive any backlash for his decision:
"I don’t think you guys know the backstory. I don’t want to get into all of that as far as not meeting with us or meeting with us. I don’t want to get into all those details. We talked. Me and him talked. We were in constant communication. We were together. And he made his decision. Anybody to judge that is wrong. He made a decision based on what he felt was good for himself at this time of his career and he made that.
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The backstory is, according to Knicks general manager Steve Mills (via Berman), "they would have been more eager for a Hamptons meeting with Durant had they thought he would be a free agent again next season."
While Durant made a decision that was good for him—inking a two-year, $54 million deal with Golden State—it wasn't good for Thunder fans, who immediately took their aggression out on their memorabilia:
Durant tried to stay out of sight after the decision, as he told the media earlier on Tuesday (via Sam Amick of USA Today):
"I didn't leave my bed, because I was like, 'Man, if I walk outside somebody might just try to hit me with their car or say anything negative to me. I just stayed in. I was trying to process it all. I wanted to be around family and positive support. It felt different."
Anthony has offered some of that positive support: "Just talking to him and being around him, he’s happy and at peace with that decision. And everyone else should be at peace with that decision. If he’s at peace, everyone else should be at peace."
Durant will get plenty of additional support and feel even better playing alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson next year in a Warriors offense that is more feared now than it was during a record-setting 73-9 regular season.
And while he might face the ire of NBA fans when he hits the road, he at least has the backing of one of the biggest names in the league with Anthony.
