George Karl needs to move on, get over issues with Carmelo Anthony

George Karl's feelings about Carmelo Anthony have been clear for years. And until recently, Anthony has stayed quiet about what he thinks about his former coach. 

However, even though the 2013 NBA scoring champion reignited their feud with what he said on his '7PM in Brooklyn' podcast, Karl is the one who needs to move on once and for all. 

Since Karl's thoughts about his former All-Star player are well documented, Anthony was asked about what caused the rift between coach and player during their time together in Denver. Anthony referenced one of their first interactions after Karl was hired midseason by the Nuggets in January 2005. 

"After shootaround, he (Karl) called me to his room and was like, 'Hey, I think you're overrated. You have a lot of work to do," said Anthony. 

At the time, Anthony was in the midst of his second NBA season after being drafted third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. By that point, Anthony was coming off leading Denver to the playoffs as a rookie the year before. 

Karl was accomplished in his own right, but Anthony said he knew in that moment that the two would never see eye to eye. 

To no surprise, Karl had to respond. "Hey Carmelo Anthony, let's not do this. You're telling stories that are 20 years old. Let's move forward. And you were overrated and wish your game was as efficient as Detlef's (Schrempf)," the 72-year-old Karl posted on X (Twitter). He didn't leave it there. Karl then added several more comments in an effort to attack Anthony. 

It's to the point where this rivalry simply needs to be put to rest, and it's Karl who should be the one to let it die out. He is the one who started all of this in the first place with the release of his book "Furious George" in 2017.   

In reality, both Karl and Anthony are deserving of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Karl was inducted in 2022 and Anthony is likely to also be elected in his first year of eligibility. 

Karl is one of nine coaches in NBA history with over 1,000 career wins. He led 22 teams to the playoffs, guided the Seattle Super Sonics to a trip the NBA Finals in 1996 and was named the Coach of the Year for the 2012-2013 season. 

As for Anthony, he's widely regarded as one of the greatest scorers in the history of the sport. Anthony is a 10-time All-Star, No. 10 all-time in points, a three-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, the 2013 NBA scoring champion and an NCAA national champion from his lone college season at Syracuse.  

But the moral of this story is Anthony has accomplished far too much to continue being disrespected by a retired coach. And Karl has too much to be thankful for — most notably claiming the greatest victory of his life, beating cancer — to still be so bitter about the past.