<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Las Vegas - Say hello to the new Melo. Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony is promising that his troubles of the past are a thing of the past and he is more mature. His focus is on becoming a great NBA player, an outstanding father and a role model. Anthony, 23, sat down for a question-and-answer session with The Denver Post during the Team USA mini-camp over the weekend. Q: You've been calling yourself the new Melo of late. Explain the new Melo. Melo: "I'm introducing the new Melo. I'm a new person. A new attitude. A businessman now. I'm happy. I probably tell you this every year, but I'm more happy than I've ever been. It's nothing in general. It's just life, period. I don't know why. I just woke up one day and felt this way, somehow." Q: Are you tired of the drama that you have had on and off the court the past few years? Melo: "Yeah. No more drama, baby. No more drama for me. I'm done with it." Q: How have you grown the past couple of years? Melo: "I've matured a lot. Even last year I felt that I matured a lot. After the (fight in New York) they probably said I was immature. It was an immature stance. But it happened." Q: During the USA Basketball minicamp, you've been talking about winning an NBA championship. Where does that talk come from? Melo: "That's just my confidence. I think I have a chance at doing it, especially with the talent that we got. K-Mart's (Ken- yon Martin) coming back. Hopefully, he's healthy. On paper we are one of the most talented teams in the NBA, if not the most talented. "People have been sleeping on us. I don't think people think we can jell together, that we can do it. I'm pretty sure that everybody is on the same page. Everybody has something to prove this year." Q: The Nuggets have about $78 million in committed salary for next season, which would put them well over the salary cap. Are you confident that the current roster will be around come training camp or will the high salaries cause change? Melo: "We'll be straight. I really don't feel we'll do anything. I think everybody will be in training camp and we're looking forward to having everybody." Q: Has ownership given you any indication of its plans? Melo: "I don't know what's going to happen after training camp. But we'll have everybody in training camp." Q: How do you reflect back on last season? Melo: "We had a long season from the trades, to the suspensions, all that. To still end up where we ended and to play the way we played, we were right there against the Spurs. It wasn't like they beat us by 15, 20 points. They beat us by three, four, five points. We know what type of team we are. We know we can play." Q: Would you agree that to be a championship-caliber team, the Nuggets need to be relatively injury-free and with less drama, like the suspensions? Melo: "No injuries. I ain't swinging at nobody no more." </div> Source: Denver Post
Cant wait for next season. Carmelo is gonna have a highs in every catagory. It really seems like his defense could be getting better along with his rebounding. Him and AI are gonna be tough to stop. Even for the spurs.
Glad to see these comments made by Melo. He's too talented offensively but certain problems seem to continue to hold him back. Thankfully he claims that it's done and he's matured. If I'm a Nuggets fan I'd be ecstatic about this.
Talk means nothing without actions to back it up. I think what he did last year was pretty stupid and he got what he deserved, but seeing him doing his thing on Team USA only makes me want to see him do the same along side AI, K-Mart, Nene and company. One thing I didn't see him say, which is kind of troubling to me, is that he's learned that he doesn't have to try to get it done all by himself. Last year there were many times when he'd force shots against a double or triple team instead of kicking it out and getting ball movement to find the open man and/or mismatch. And while we all love it when it goes his way in those situations, we despise it when it doesn't. I just hope that he stays agressive, but yet be smart about it.
