Oklahoma City Thunder: Why All The Hate For Carmelo Anthony And His Deal?

Fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder are torn between the decision Carmelo Anthony made to opt-in into his $24 million option with the team last weekend. Some love that he did so while others are slandering his name and their team for that decision. But why?

Is it because the Thunder choked themselves out of the first-round of the playoffs against the Utah Jazz? Could another reason be that the Thunder could lose Paul George due to too many high contracts? Or, could it be because Anthony had the worse season of his career with the Thunder?

To all the Oklahoma City Thunder fans hating on what Melo decided to do, here’s a thought for you to consider. Is a player not allowed a bad season? I know, with Russell Westbrook as the face of the franchise and the king of triple-doubles, it’s hard to imagine a player with Anthony’s skills declining the way he did right in front of your face when the team needed him the most. However, with that said, does he not deserve a shot at redemption?

Is it the amount of money he’s getting that has fans on edge or is it the 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds he averaged while shooting 40 percent from the floor? However, a closer look will reveal that Carmelo Anthony just didn’t have a normal Carmelo Anthony season. This has to be forgiven.

Did the Thunder fans not forgive Westbrook and Kevin Durant after their meltdown against the Golden State Warriors? Did they not forgive the Thunder after they choked against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals? As bad as Anthony was, this organization has seen worse. He deserves another chance to make things right. As bad as you feel, just image what a player with his size pride is going through. He wanted nothing more than to bring that city a title and he failed. This is exactly what he needed to become the player who has averaged 20+ points for 15 seasons before this year.

Carmelo is still one of the game’s deadliest offensive weapons but he’s not used to playing with two other alpha males. This season was a learning curve and for that alone, he deserves a mulligan.

Did Carmelo Anthony Hurt The Oklahoma City Thunder?

Now, with rumors swirling that the team may try to trade him, they must also realize that the TEAM fell apart during the playoffs. The Thunder must return to the defensive unit they were early in the year and do away with a vast majority of the three-pointers they took.

Some teams, when adding too many new additions will struggle their first go-round and this was no different. However, despite what the media would like many to think in terms of where Paul George would like to end up, has anyone thought that Carmelo opting in and George giving hints that he will return is a coincidence? This team came together to win, simple as that. But they failed as most newly-formed teams do.

Carmelo Anthony deciding to return is not the worse thing that could have happened here. Imagine the Oklahoma City Thunder with just Westbrook and Steven Adams. To be fair, Carmelo returning is what may actually save the Thunder.

Mark Wilson

Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.