Carmelo Anthony's time as a Knick wasn't the best of experiences. At first, the marriage looked to be a match made in heaven.
But the divorce was as ugly as it gets.
Anthony demanded former Knicks president Phil Jackson find him a new home in the NBA before the start of last season, and it eventually happened in a deal with the Thunder under new president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry's watch. Anthony's tenure in Oklahoma City, though, lasted just one season as he finds himself down in Houston with the Rockets.
The Rockets, who have had a rough start to their 2018-19 season, made their way to the Big Apple on Thursday ahead of their matchup in Brooklyn against the Nets on Friday night. In turn, Anthony was met by many media members after practice, and was asked about his time as a Knick now that he has over a year to reflect on the experience.
Despite it mostly being a rough stretch, Melo said the experience was actually a positive one.
"Honestly, I didn't have a bad experience there," Anthony told the Daily News' Stefan Bondy. "Overall, looking back on it now, I had a great, great experience in New York. Last couple years was a little tough as far as losing and what I had to deal with, but other than that I had a helluva experience in New York."
Unlike his situation with the Thunder and now the Rockets, Anthony was never paired with other All-Stars to work with when he was a Knick. But it wasn't like the Knicks didn't have the resources to get one. Instead, Jackson decided to pair Anthony up with players like Robin Lopez and Joakim Noah, and that obviously didn't pan out.
When it came to landing free agents, Anthony also made light of the fact that players weren't too keen on joining the Knicks during that period.
"I think just the business," he explained. "Everything that was going on. The perception of the organization. I think it probably scared a lot of people away. Scared some people away. Not knowing the nuances and the ins and outs of kind of what was going on, who is in charge, who is not. So it was more than just basketball when it came to people making those decisions. A lot of times the decision is not the basketball player. It's the people that's around him, it's the team that has a heavy influence on a lot of those decisions."
The Knicks are in an entirely different place now. Mills and Perry have stuck to their rebuilding plan, and the Knicks look to have a few great young pieces to build around Kristaps Porzingis. There was also the key acquisition of new head coach David Fizdale, who is establishing a new culture with the team.
Personally, Anthony loves the Fizdale hire, and he thinks his coaching is already being felt.
"I think we all have to start from somewhere. And I think what coach David is doing over there, he's getting it right as far as mindset goes. The talent will come but I think the mindset of how he approaches to the game trickels down to the organization, how serious he takes the game, his approach to the game. You could just tell by the energy he brings. I've seen them play once or twice this season so far. Kind of just the energy they play with. Even preseason you watch them play and that energy is different from what we've seen in the past."
And even though that past wasn't what Anthony or Knicks fans expected, it was still an experience that Melo wouldn't want to trade for anything.