Carmelo Anthony was a free agent this summer around the time when Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry made his now infamous race-related comments about fellow free agent forward Luol Deng. Anthony offered a harsh assessment of Ferry's words and what they mean for the future of the Hawks, bluntly stating that free agents are unlikely to go to Atlanta following the scandal:
Carmelo Anthony says nobody would want to play for the Hawks
The Knicks star spoke his mind on the scandal involving Danny Ferry and the Atlanta Hawks at his basketball camp.
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
“[There] ain’t nobody [who] would want to go there,” Anthony said at the Citi Carmelo Anthony Basketball ProCamp at Baruch College Saturday morning. “At the end of the day, Atlanta … I think it puts Atlanta back even further now, from that standpoint.”
Atlanta entered the offseason with a significant amount of cap space, prompting some lightly-regarded rumors that the Hawks could sign both Anthony and LeBron James. That talk was short-lived -- Anthony signed back in New York and James chose Cleveland over Miami. Atlanta made only minor additions in the form of Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore after chasing Deng, among other players.
Mess in Atlanta
Anthony made it clear that players have nothing against the city, but that the recent scandal involving Ferry and team owner Bruce Levenson won’t sit well with potential free agents.
“Atlanta is a great city, a great market, great people, great atmosphere,” Anthony said. “But as far as the comments were made, I think it was uncalled for. From an owner, from a GM, those are not things you play with.
“As a player, as an athlete, we’re looking for a job, we’re trying to find a place where we can move our family, we can make our family comfortable, where we can be comfortable in a comfortable environment, but those comments right there, we would never look at. I’m speaking on behalf of all athletes. We would never look at a situation like that, I don’t care what it is.”
Anthony also voiced his support for commissioner Adam Silver, saying he supports him “100 percent.”
Ferry was been placed on an indefinite leave of absence for the comments on Deng after the audio recording of his comments surfaced on Thursday. Levenson is set to sell his share of the team. You can follow the entire controversy at our Hawks community Peachtree Hoops.
The Hawks open the preseason on Oct. 6 against New Orleans.
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