It has been six years since Mike D’Antoni’s stint with the New York Knicks was terminated, with he and Carmelo Anthony following different career trajectories. At the time, ‘Melo didn’t want to play in the coach’s system and successfully ran him out of town. Things did not end well there between the both of them.
A humbled and aging Anthony has now officially signed with the Houston Rockets on a 1-year, $2.4 million dollar veteran’s minimum contract.
With by-gones being by-gones and a new team, the two have come to compromise and put everything behind them. As Coach D’Antoni puts it, Melo will be a good fit with the Rockets, alongside James Harden and Chris Paul.
“In New York, when [the Knicks] gave away half the team [to the Nuggets in the 2011 trade for Anthony] and everybody expected us to win a championship, it really wasn’t realistic. It put a lot of pressure on everybody, and it kind of burst the pipes. I think this is totally different. We’ve got a team that is a whole bunch of veterans that really, we’ve got one thing in mind, and that’s to win a championship, and we have the possibility.
“We never had a blow-up before, so it’s not he wanted to play a certain way and I kind of wanted to coach another way. Back then [in New York], there wasn’t even analytics. I was going by my gut, and he was going by [his] gut, and it’s just, you know — styles clash. And I think now, things have changed and everybody is playing the same way. I think it’s a lot better fit and I think we have a really good chance to be really good.”
As of now, Mike did not reveal whether he’d put Carmelo in the starting lineup, though he did say his role in Houston would be different. He said those are the things the team still has to work out with their gut instinct and analytics. But if they can all fire on all cylinders and everyone is on the same page, they can contend for a championship.
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