Carmelo Anthony says what everyone knew: OKC ‘wasn’t a good fit’ for him

The newest member of the Houston Rockets, Carmelo Anthony, admits that he didn’t fit in well with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

From the very moment Carmelo Anthony was dealt from the New York Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder last September, it was very questionable how well it would actually work out.

Though a lineup that includes three superstars like Anthony, Russell Westbrook and Paul George sounds pretty legitimate on paper, there was much more to it than just the names involved. When the Thunder were eliminated by the up-and-coming Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2018 NBA playoffs, it was pretty evident that something just wasn’t right.

Melo is now headed to the Houston Rockets to join forces with James Harden and Chris Paul, and he admits that Oklahoma City just wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

“At the end of the day, it wasn’t a good fit,” Anthony said, according to ESPN’s Jemele Hill. Adding:

"I think last year – and I haven’t talked about this before – everything was just so rushed, going to the team for media day and the day before training camp. Them guys already had something in place, and then I come along in the 25th hour like, oh s—, Melo just come on and join us. Like, you can figure it out since you’ve been around the game for a long time. That’s why it was so inconsistent. At times, I had to figure it out on my own rather than somebody over there or people over there helping me."

Anthony wanted to get traded to Houston from New York last year, but it didn’t work out, and he ended up getting shipped to the Thunder at the last minute. It’s been suggested that the best way for Melo to contribute in Oklahoma City would’ve been to come off the bench, but Anthony refused to consider that idea. As the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and the longtime face of the Denver Nuggets (as well as an NCAA champion with Syracuse in 2003), it’s understandable why Melo wouldn’t want to demote himself to a bench role.

Now that he’s landed himself in a more desirable position with the Rockets, it will be interesting to see if he fits in better with Harden and Paul than he did with Westbrook and George.