It sounds like George Karl had some things about Carmelo Anthony he wanted to get off his chest. The New York Post got its hands on an advance copy of Karl's upcoming memoir "Furious George," and oh man does it get personal.
Karl, who coached Anthony for six-plus seasons in Denver, called Anthony a "conundrum," a "user of people" and "addicted to the spotlight," according to The Post.
“Carmelo was a true conundrum for me in the six years I had him,” Karl wrote. “He was the best offensive player I ever coached. He was also a user of people, addicted to the spotlight and very unhappy when he had to share it.
“He really lit my fuse with his low demand of himself on defense. He had no commitment to the hard, dirty work of stopping the other guy. My ideal — probably every coach’s ideal — is when your best player is also your leader. But since Carmelo only played hard on one side of the ball, he made it plain he couldn’t lead the Nuggets, even though he said he wanted to. Coaching him meant working around his defense and compensating for his attitude.”
Karl also suggested that Anthony and former Nugget Kenyon Martin sometimes acted the way they did because each didn't have fathers who were in their lives.
“Kenyon and Carmelo carried two big burdens: all that money and no father to show them how to act like a man,” Karl wrote.
Update, 10:17 a.m.: It looks like the Post might have taken this particular quote out of context. ESPN's Kevin Pelton also got an advanced copy of the book. Karl's full quote, which you can read below, comes across as more empathetic than the Post's snippet.
Karl's professional relationship with Anthony ended in 2011 when the Nuggets traded Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the Knicks for Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov and draft picks.
“We won this trade, definitely,’’ Karl wrote.
"Furious George" will be available for purchase in January.
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