The fall of Carmelo Anthony has been something brewing for a few years now, ever since he left the New York Knicks for a different venture out west. Yet his issues stemmed from his time in The Big Apple, as Knicks chairman James Dolan insisted in playing him at small forward, despite many experts suggesting he'd be best using his skill set at power forward.
Per ESPN's Baxter Holmes:
“Anthony, several members of those Knicks say now, had always envisioned himself as a small forward; he'd stubbornly preferred to play that position, even though members of the coaching staff and front office say they had long viewed him as a stretch power forward who could space the court with his shooting. But Knicks insiders say that ownership — namely Jim Dolan — wanted Anthony to play the small forward position while A'mare Stoudemire played power forward. This frustrated some members of the coaching staff, who viewed it as driven only by Dolan's desire to have star power on the court, according to sources on those Knicks teams. But in 2012-13, Stoudemire was sidelined for most of the season with knee trouble. To accommodate, Anthony agreed to change positions. “The injury that year forced everyone's hands — Jim's and Carmelo's,” one Knicks source says.”
Anthony came into the league at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, the prototypical small forward at the time. Twenty pounds later and a few knee surgeries after and Melo's game became more perimeter oriented and less useful around the rim, while providing less rebounding and defensive intangibles.
Melo's role became so focused in scoring as his means of survival, that nearly any other attributes that came with him at the start of his career had become largely a wash due to his high volume and the Knicks' dependence in his scoring ability. Dolan loved the 30-point nights as much as Anthony did, even if it came with the losses, and his ultimate insistence in letting his star get his way might have cost Anthony a few extra years in the NBA.
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