Carmelo Anthony Paid Hefty Price for Choosing $80 Million Contract Over LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Stephen A. Smith Claims

One would not expect a player of Carmelo Anthony’s caliber to remain deprived of an NBA championship. Anthony retired from the NBA as the ninth-highest scorer. However, apart from Karl Malone, he is the only player among the top 10 to not have even a single ring. But could this have been changed? What would have been the scenario had Melo ended up with his buddies LeBron James and Dwayne Wade in Miami in 2010? Stephen A. Smith, who covered the 2010 NBA Free Agency extensively, expressed his opinion of this possibility.

“We all know if that brother (Carmelo Anthony) was with Dwayne and LeBron, he’d have had at least those two and probably three of the four [NBA championships],” Smith stated on the Drink Champs podcast. Stephen A. earlier mentioned on the podcast that it was not Chris Bosh but Carmelo Anthony who was supposed to be with LeBron and Wade. And Melo paid the hefty price of not cementing his legacy with a Championship due to his decision a few years before that.

When these 2003 Draft Class stars signed their first extensions, they made sure to sign a similar contract to leave themselves a chance of teaming up in the future. Wade, LeBron, and Bosh all signed 4-year extensions with an option to opt out after the third year. All three of them decided to choose that option and became free agents in 2010. However, Anthony took a different route.

Melo signed a 5-year, $80 million contract with the Nuggets because of a sense of security. This restricted him from becoming a free agent in 2010. So Wade, LeBron, and Bosh formed the famed Heatles trio that made 4 straight Finals appearances, winning twice.

Melo, on the other hand, was soon traded to the New York Knicks, where he regularly faced the Miami team he was supposed to be a part of. The best that the Knicks team could do was a Conference Semis appearance during Melo’s six-year stay in the Big Apple. He bounced around the league after that, eventually retiring in 2023 without a ring. While Melo did get to team up with Bron later on, it came too late.

Appearing on the podcast, Smith stated no matter what any of the players say now, Melo had accepted in a one-on-one interview with him the true reason. In the interview from 2019, Melo faced this exact question of not joining LeBron and Wade in Miami.

Carmelo Anthony regretted signing a 5-year contract in 2006

“Immaturity, growth from that situation… And still having this street mentality of, ‘I’m not leaving no money on the table.’ I didn’t truly understand there was going to be a lockout and what the lockout meant at that point in time. I loved Denver. I wanted to be in Denver, I wasn’t ready to leave Denver,” Carmelo Anthony said during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take in 2019.

Melo stated during the interview that he had discussions with LeBron and D-Wade. And he was suggested to take a three-year deal rather than five. “I didn’t know what it meant to take a three-year deal as opposed to a five-year deal. I’m not looking at, ‘I’m not leaving two year’s worth of this money on the table,'” Anthony said.

Melo is a 10x All-Star, 3x Olympic Gold medallist, and part of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team among various individual achievements. There are very few players in NBA history who have such a decorated resume. Yet, the one accolade that matters the most is missing. Melo’s legacy shouldn’t be defined by that, though.