Carmelo Anthony 'Wasn't the Issue' in Oklahoma City

The experiment of Russell Westbrook and Paul George never worked out quite the way the Oklahoma City Thunder was hoping for. While they were both two of the best players in the NBA at the time, it never amounted to any playoff success.

That was apparent in their first season together, but they weren't the only big names that landed on the squad. Oklahoma City traded for Carmelo Anthony back in 2017 for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round pick in an effort to build its own version of a "superteam."

By that point, Anthony wasn't the elite-level player that he once was. While still someone who could give the Thunder a bucket, his production couldn't match the Denver Nuggets or the early New York Knicks days. However, it seems as if the odds were stacked against "Melo" from the very beginning of his short-lived stint with the franchise.

Recently on the All the Smoke podcast, George opened up on Anthony's time in Oklahoma City. Based on his comments, the soon-to-be Hall of Fame forward wasn't given a solidified plan by coach Billy Donovan.

“Melo sacrificed. Melo wasn’t the issue,” George said. “Billy had a plan for Russ and I, then right at the last minute, we got Carmelo. So now Billy’s like, ‘I don’t know how to incorporate him. Y’all were my two guys. Melo’s just gonna have to find his way.’”

Anthony arrived to the Thunder at the end of September, so Donovan had to quickly integrate him into the lineup. That never really came to fruition, as Anthony was left to figure things out on his own and try to work around two ball-dominant scorers.

Oklahoma City didn't have the makings of a championship roster at the time, but perhaps if it had utilized Anthony in the right way, it could've made a deeper run in the playoffs. It was beaten by the Utah Jazz in just six games — led by a rookie Donovan Mitchell. That loss stung immensely for the franchise.

Just a year later, without Anthony, an even bigger defeat came at the hands of Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. After the dust settled there, both Westbrook and George were traded away in the offseason.

The 2017-18 Thunder is a fairly large hypothetical in its history. If it had been handled differently, that team might be remembered more fondly today.