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Months prior, George Karl attempted to bury the hatchet with former Denver Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony. The former head coach took to X (formerly Twitter) and explained his reasoning. While Anthony hasn't been as straightforward, he understands what Karl was trying to do.
On the Boardroom Podcast, Anthony explained how he has a different perspective on Karl and his approach.
“My only like kind of thing was with George,” Anthony said. “Maybe I do look back, and I was young, I was young trying to figure out my game, trying to figure out how to run the organization, how to represent. Also, I had to be true to who I am. So I had somebody like George, who was an older coach.
“He's been around the block for a long time and was trying to send me a message in a way. If he would’ve delivered the message differently, I probably would’ve received it differently. But now looking back at it like, damn he was saying some s—t to me but it wasn’t the way you should say it to a person in that situation.”
Carmelo Anthony and George Karl might bury the Nuggets' hatchet
The head coach and star didn't see eye-to-eye on a variety of things. As Anthony said, he was a rising player, and Karl was an established coach. He had his way, and Anthony had his. Regardless, the duo took the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Besides that, the Nuggets didn't meet expectations. When the disgruntled star and head coach had enough, Anthony was sent to the New York Knicks. He didn't have the success of those Nuggets teams. During that time, though, Karl poked fun at Anthony and ignited a beef.
Although his comments were about current Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, throwing shade at a former player isn't the best look. He's had players like Gary Payton Sr and Shawn Kemp throughout his coaching career. Those guys are Hall of Famers. Anthony has made his case, but not to Karl. The nagging and criticism seem a bit unnecessary.
Fast forward a year, and it seems that Karl is ready to bury the hatchet. It's up to Anthony if he wants to reciprocate it. He always talked highly of the Nuggets fanbase throughout all of the tension between the two. Still, it might take a while, considering the dramatic exit between the two.