“Lack of Respect”: Carmelo Anthony Uses Magic Johnson’s Failure as to Why He’ll Never Take One Major Role in the NBA

Not everyone wants to be a master of all trades. Some are more inclined to excel in one of those and live with that legacy, holding their heads high. Carmelo Anthony seems to belong to that pack. Regarded as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, Melo has all it takes to be a highly impactful mentor. But the 3x Olympic gold medalist might not step into those shoes ever. And he takes cues from the pages of NBA history to back up his decision.

Those pages reveal that rarely do star players become the head coach of an NBA franchise. There are just five names in league history who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame both as a player and a coach (John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, and Bill Russell). And if they do, it rarely ends well. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and Steve Nash are just some names who couldn’t carry their basketball legacies as players into coaching. Anthony took his learnings from here.

During a podcast appearance with Monica McNutt, 10x All-Star Melo was asked if he would ever become a coach in the NBA. And before the question even finished, Melo had already given his answer without any hesitation, “NOPE!” Claiming that he would rather coach at the High School level, the 40-year-old revealed that he wanted a situation where he had full control of the team, citing the example of the 2x defending National Champion, Dan Hurley.

That, however, is not possible in the NBA because of the power the front offices and the players have these days. “It’s a lack of respect,” Melo added on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast. Moreover, the situation could be even worse for players who used to be superstars in the league, somewhat similar to what happened with Magic Johnson.

On November 7, 1991, Magic Johnson shocked the world by announcing his retirement after getting diagnosed with HIV. After ending his career at 32, Magic decided to take up the Lakers head coaching job during the 1993-94 season. The stint started well. In his debut match against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 27, 1994, the Lakers won by 110-101 with the crowd giving Johnson a standing ovation. But ultimately, his coaching tenure only lasted sixteen games as he finished with an abysmal 5-11 record.

So, Melo would rather stay away from that kind of fate, “NBA, Hell No!” One more reason is there. Having been a superstar in the league for nineteen years comes ego and pride. But Anthony claims that the same ego, pride, and know it all attitude that helped him be so great as a player could cause troubles in the team as a coach.

With his own idea of how the game should be played, Melo might butt heads with his players if they don’t abide by the way he coaches. “No big-time player has gotten back on the sideline and was successful as a coach,” Melo said, citing the same reason. But his aversion to coaching does not mean that he wants to sever all the ties with the NBA realm.

Anthony left the door open for a front-office role in the future, where he gets to pull the strings and have more control of the team. And he has already taken the first step in that journey as recently, he joined the ownership of an expansion team in Australia’s NBL. This could lay the groundwork for him to become an owner or a part of the front office in the NBA going forward.

“It’s something that I am working towards as we speak. I am actually excited about the whole opportunity… The time is now!” Melo said about becoming an owner in the NBA someday. But even that can also become tricky. In fact, the same Magic Johnson, whose example Anthony took, did not have a very pleasant front-office experience with the Lakers.

For Carmelo Anthony to note: Front office is not an easy ballgame

In February 2017 Johnson was inducted as Lakers’ president of basketball operations. After a two-year stint, in April 2019, Johnson once again shocked the world by abruptly announcing his decision to step down. According to reports, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss or general manager Rob Pelinka was not in the knowhow till the last moment. In a dramatic fashion, Johnson announced it just one and a half hours ahead of the Lakers’ final game of the sixth consecutive losing season. “I want to go back to being who I was before taking on this job,” Johnson had initially said about his decision. But the bomb had yet to drop.

That dropped nearly after a month of his resignation. Johnson appeared on ESPN’s First Take and let it out all. In a shocking revelation, he stated that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was “backstabbing” him. As Johnson claimed, Pelinka was circulating negative talks about his work ethic.

“Things got going in the right direction. And then I start hearing, ‘Magic, you’re not working hard enough. Magic’s not in the office.’ So people around the Lakers office was telling me Rob was saying things. And I didn’t like those things being said behind my back,” Johnson had lashed out. “If you’re going to talk betrayal, it’s only with Rob,” he had further added. One more point of contention was the then-head coach Luke Walton.

While Johnson wanted to fire Walton, Buss was more in favor of retaining him. “I told them, when it’s not fun for me, when I think that I don’t have the decision-making power that I thought I had, then I’ve got to step aside,” Johnson had said on First Take. Here, the same power battle comes to the fore, for which Anthony wants to take up a front-office role. And Johnson’s example once again tells us the battle is difficult here as well. Is Anthony listening?

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.