Carmelo Anthony’s Leadership Role Will Transfer From Team USA To Knicks
Carmelo Anthony’s role as a leader on Team USA will transfer to the 2016-17 New York Knicks.
Since the start of USA Basketball’s training camp in Las Vegas just under a week ago, it has been clear that Carmelo Anthony is the leader and elder statesman of the team.
Anthony is making his fourth Olympic appearance this August in Rio. Kevin Durant is making his second appearance. The other 10 players on the roster are all making their Olympic debuts.
It does not quite fit the narrative of Melo, who has been questioned when it comes to his desire to win and lead, but the 32-year-old is now in a position to help guide young stars in unfamiliar territory.
This summer has been a season of change in the NBA in more ways than one and perhaps one of the biggest changes will be the new-look New York Knicks.
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As with most teams, the Knicks can and will go as far as their leader takes them. In 2016-17, the Knicks have surrounded Melo with sufficient talent to make a run towards the playoffs and this could be the perfect timing for the 14-year veteran to develop into his newfound role as a leader of star players.
Melo has been making his voice heard off the court on social issues and is leading a charge of athletes who hope to inspire change. Young players on USA Basketball cannot say enough about how he is their heart and soul of the team.
Anthony’s Olympic teammate, DeAndre Jordan, described the two-time Gold Medalist to NBA TV during a post-game interview as “the life of the team,” following their dominant win over China in an exhibition game.
Just the fact that Melo has won two consecutive Gold Medals, averaging 16 points per game in the 2012 Olympics, is an example in itself of why the narrative that he “doesn’t have what it takes to win” is misconstrued in the first place.
This August will be a great experiment to put that notion to the test.
Team USA is loaded with talent, but it takes more than talent to win. The group will have to be focused and play well together to achieve the ultimate goal. A large share of the responsibility for that will fall on Melo’s shoulders.
If Team USA were to somehow slip up in Rio, we can already bet on who would receive the blame.
There’s still just over a month until the Olympics are over, but let’s look ahead at why this leadership role will carry over from Rio to Madison Square Garden when Melo joins some of his new Knicks teammates.
For the past three seasons, it’s understandable why the Knicks have fallen short of their goal of making the playoffs. Some of the blame falls on Anthony, but let’s face it: their roster has left much to be desired.
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There will be no excuses in 2016-17 and Derrick Rose is setting the bar awfully high, calling the Knicks a “superteam.”
Leaving Rose’s exaggerations alone, there’s no reason why this team should not be expected to be competitive in an Eastern Conference that is well-balanced from the second seed down to the 12th.
We’re not going to pretend like anybody in the East is close to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but as for the next 10 or so teams, why can’t the Knicks make some noise?
The additions of Rose, Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee, and even a couple under-the-radar international free agent signings should all help the Knicks become a fun team to watch.
We know the typical storyline when it comes to Rose… If he can only stay healthy. Let’s operate under the assumption that Rose’s 2016-17 will be similar to the last two seasons. He has played in 117 out of a possible 164 regular season games over the last two years.
Honestly, for Rose, that’s not too bad. If the Knicks can get somewhere around 50-60 games out of the point guard, that gives them a fighting chance to reach the playoffs in the East.
We still don’t know what a 32-year-old Melo is capable of when he is motivated with a solid supporting cast around him. He’s a nine-time All-Star and has made seven straight appearances in the midseason showcase.
The Knicks have finished below .500 in three straight seasons, last making the playoffs in 2013, when they went 54-28.
Even if the Knicks don’t win 50 games, but reach the playoffs in 2015-16 somewhere between the four and seven seed, with the talent on their roster, it would not be a surprise for them to get through the first round.
Kristaps Porzingis will not have to be relied upon as heavily entering his second season in the league, and there won’t be too much pressure on his shoulders to be a star player immediately. He can develop freely without fans expecting 20 points and 10 rebounds on a regular basis.
We can pretty much count on Melo to score his 20 or so points per game. When Rose is healthy, 15-20 point performances are not out of the ordinary.
Noah is known for being a team-first guy. Courtney Lee should fit in nicely, play solid defense, and knock down timely jumpers.
There are plenty of reasons for Knicks fans to be excited compared to what they’ve suffered through in recent years.
How Melo uses this experience as the indisputable leader of Team USA and how he infuses that into his new Knicks locker room can make the difference between missing the playoffs, being a one-and-done team that’s eliminated in the first round, or making a deep run into the postseason.
Melo has earned the respect and confidence of his teammates and legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski heading into the Rio Games.
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Phil Jackson has spoken often about the trust he has in Melo to lead the team. 2016-17 is a great opportunity for the star forward to prove some of his doubters wrong and show the world what he can do with a more talented team around him.
There has certainly been legitimate criticism of Anthony, dating all the way back to his time in Denver, but it appears he is maturing as a player and as a person. He showed signs last season that he is becoming a less selfish player (averaging a career-high 4.3 assists) and every indication from his Olympic teammates leads one to believe that he really is a player to whom young stars look up and admire.
Even for basketball fans who have no vested interest in the Knicks, seeing Madison Square Garden as a venue for a tough playoff battle, and seeing a reinvigorated New York fan-base would be great for the league and the sport.
As someone who likes to pull for guys to beat the odds and prove people wrong, I hope Melo builds off of this Olympic experience and takes the valuable lessons that he has learned from Rio, London, Beijing, and Athens, where he has grown as a player and an individual over the course of the last 12 years, and incorporates those lessons into the 2016-17 season to make the Knicks a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference.
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It’s hard to believe, but this will be Melo’s 14th NBA season. That experience combined with the talent that he still possesses and a team of solid players around him should all make for a fun team to watch and some competitive basketball at a place that has been associated with losing for the last three years.