Carmelo Anthony Gave Us A Great "NBA What If" By Revealing The Details Around Potentially Teaming Up With LeBron, Wade And Bosh During His Prime

Tim Defrisco. Getty Images.

Now this is what I'm talking about. When I think of current and former athletes having podcasts, this is the type of stuff I want. I don't need the hot takes in an effort to go viral or any of that nonsense, I want the "what ifs". The behind the scenes stories that provide interesting context to what we all watched happen. Just give me backroom dealings/plans and some hilarious stories and I'm happy.

This one right here by Melo? That'a the good stuff. You want to talk about crazy NBA "what ifs", well I'd say Prime Melo having the opportunity to join forces with LeBron/Wade/Bosh is pretty high up there. I think we have sort of forgotten what a problem Young Melo was given it took place so long ago, but this man was an absolute force

At the time I remember there was speculation around Melo joining them but as he explained once he signed his 5 year deal instead of the 3 year deal that sort of killed any momentum of that foursome getting together. It's not the first we've heard of everyone potentially pairing up in either Chicago or New York, but I don't ever remember Melo being involved in those rumors, just the trio that ended up together in South Beach. I do wonder how much of this is Melo just trying to be respectful to Bosh, because I feel like Melo would have been the preferred choice for the Banana Boat Boys, but it is crazy to think about what the rest of NBA history looks like had those four all teamed up.

As with everything in the NBA, things eventually all boil down to timing. When the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, one of the biggest reasons it worked was the fact that they were all at the point in their careers where the only thing missing was the title. They were over the ego bullshit, they were older and at the stage of their career where they had done everything else but win.

I think it's pretty interesting that Melo was willing to be honest enough to flat out say one of the main reasons this didn't happen is because in his prime, he had no interest in being the 4th option. We may laugh at that now given that he has zero rings and that trio went on to win a couple, but it's not a crazy stance to have at the time. Admittedly I'm pretty sure a 25 year old Melo wouldn't have been the 4th option behind Bosh, maybe the 2.5 or 3rd option depending on what Wade was willing to accept. In hindsight was it the best decision? I guess it depends on what you value. Melo is already stamped as a first ballot HOFer (not debatable), he's a Top 75 Team Member, a 10x All star and 6x All NBA player who made over $260M in basketball contract money alone. He did just fine.

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But he's unfortunately part of that group of NBA legends and HOFers who never won a ring. To some, that's more of his legacy than anything else which isn't exactly fair, but it's how fans operate nowadays in RINGZZZZZ culture. Given how dominant those Heat teams were during their run, I think it's fair to assume that Melo would have added at least one ring to his resume had he decided to join forces, and it's interesting to think how that would have changed the perception of him as a player.

Because let's be honest, not everyone who joins superteams and wins a ring is remembered fondly. Have you heard of Kevin Durant? So in some ways I kind of respect turning that path down, locking down your own contract security and then being "the guy" on your own team, which also happened to be competing in the Western Conference. It didn't work out obviously, but that's sports.

All I know is I am IN on these type of behind the scenes stories. Even if they aren't 100% truthful around some of the small details, just giving us a look behind the curtain and what went into everything is all I care about and this is certainly one of the NBA "what ifs" that would have changed the course of the league forever. Think of what happens if that Knicks trade never materializes, does Bosh sign on if Melo is there? How does the rest of the league respond? 

I guess we'll never know.