I think this is partly true.
It isn’t like Carmelo is Dwight Howard. Melo is pretty much liked by everyone, players, coaches and media. You don’t hear anyone really saying anything bad about him.
There is a narrative that he has been responsible for problems with three teams the Knicks, Thunder and Rockets. In a story in the HEAVY, it is pointed out that none of those teams really got any better once Melo was around.
Anthony is said to be in good shape and his resume as a scorer is sterling. But some feel Anthony won’t play in the NBA again, despite his latest push to find a contract. His representatives are fighting the perception that Anthony can no longer be a functional team player, that his scorer’s mentality and past complaints about his roles make him a net negative for any team with high aspirations.
According to league sources, his representatives are fighting that perception, “aggressively.”
“He has been the scapegoat for a few teams that didn’t play up to their potential,” one source said. “Obviously that is sticking with him. They’re showing teams he can play, but they’re also making the case that the negative reputation stuff is BS, that he is not a team-killer, that other people put blame on him the last few years that he didn’t deserve.”
I do think Melo does have to take some of the blame, there are obviously some things he could have done in the past that could have elongated his career, but when you see yourself as a superstar, it is hard to downgrade yourself.
Twitter had mixed reactions to this.