Williams: George Karl comments on Carmelo Anthony nothing new

Former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl has never been known as one to sugarcoat the truth. And some of his former players aren’t exactly sweet on the longtime NBA coach after the New York Post published excerpts from upcoming book “Furious George” on Thursday.

Among Karl’s targets, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, and, of course, Carmelo Anthony.

Of Melo, Karl said:

“Carmelo was a true conundrum for me in the six years I had him. He was the best offensive player I ever coached. He was also a user of people, addicted to the spotlight and very unhappy when he had to share it.

“He really lit my fuse with his low demand of himself on defense. He had no commitment to the hard, dirty work of stopping the other guy.”

Karl also described the trio as “AAU babies” and likened them to “the spoiled brats you see in junior golf and junior tennis. He also wrote that Martin and Anthony not having fathers hurt them in their development as men.

“Kenyon and Carmelo carried two big burdens: all that money and no father to show them how to act like a man,” Karl wrote, per the New York Post.

After the New York Knicks win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night, Anthony took the high road in response to Karl’s remarks, saying, “I’m passed being disappointed. I just hope that he finds happiness in what he’s doing and his book. Hopefully, it will bring him happiness.”

However, Smith and Martin voiced displeasure Thursday via Twitter, with the latter sending out a slew of tweets aimed at his former coach.

Still trying to be relevant. Sad just sad.

— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) December 22, 2016

George Karl is selfish,unhappy,missable,,cowardly person. No wonder he’s be fired every place he has coached

— Kenyon Martin Sr. (@KenyonMartinSr) December 22, 2016

But Alfred Williams, co-host of “The Drive,” said Thursday that Karl’s remarks aren’t anything new, that those who followed the team during that period should know the coach was open and blunt almost to a fault.

“I think if you were around Denver, and you were listening and participating with the Nuggets while they had those great teams that were routinely in the playoffs, he didn’t say anything different then,” Williams said. “Why are you mad now? Because he put it in a book? If you listen to any of George Karl’s comments in the past about J.R. Smith, about Carmelo Anthony, you would have heard the exact same thing.”

Williams also said that for Martin to vent his frustrations with Karl on Twitter was the wrong way to go about making his rebuttal.

“It’s just not been presented well. It’s the amateur route that he’s taken in his frustration over some of the things that were said in the George Karl book,” Williams said. “And I know he wants to lash out, but he’s got to find a better way than using his Twitter account the way he has …”

In five full seasons (roughly six total) together from 2004 to 2011, Karl and Anthony led the Nuggets to stretch of success not seen in Denver since the late 1980s. In that time, the duo amassed a record of 310-197 (.611) and playoff berths each season, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2008-09.

Karl’s book will be available to the public Jan. 10.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.