Former Denver Nugget Dikembe Mutombo offers some advice to Carmelo Anthony
Dikembe Mutombo, the now-retired 18-year NBA veteran, was in Denver for the Nuggets’ home opener against the Utah Jazz to support his close friend Masai Ujiri, hired as Denver’s GM over
the summer.
But for the 44-year old Congolese, who is also the global ambassador for the NBA, he couldn’t help but make a few comments regarding Carmelo Anthony’s uncertain future with the Nuggets.
"You think the grass is going to be greener on the other side, because you think it's not raining here right now," said Mutombo, who played his first five seasons in a Nuggets’ uniform.
"But by the time you walk to the other side, it might not be green. You might be going to the same dry season you experienced in the other part."
Anthony has been embroiled in trade rumours ever since he refused to sign a three-year contract extension worth $64 million with the Nuggets, which has been on the table all summer. While
he hasn’t publicly demanded a trade, Anthony made his most revealing comments to date after the Nuggets-Jazz game, saying that “it’s time for a change.”
Mutombo went to the Atlanta Hawks after his five years as a Nugget because of cap-space issues in Denver at the time. When asked whether he would have stayed in Denver had the Nuggets
been able to keep him, his answer was a resounding yes.
"Of course," he said. "Sometimes you have to search your soul, see if I'm happy. If you're happy, then stay, instead of going somewhere because of the money."
Mutombo, hard to miss at 7ft 2in, was recognized on his plane ride to Denver and said he felt the love from the Nuggets’ fans, even though he ended up leaving the team.
“Everybody on the plane was like, 'Thank you so much for everything you did for us while you were in Denver,"' Mutombo said. "That made me feel so good about it. This is what you want
to hear. You don't want to hear people say, 'Man, what are you doing in our city? You left us. Get out of here."'
One doesn’t need to look very far for a recent example of fan angst because of a player leaving. Clevelanders took to the streets, burning LeBron James’ jerseys, after he made the decision
to join the Miami Heat this summer instead of staying in Cleveland.
To avoid this from happening, Mutombo has a simple message for Anthony: stay.
"This is his team. He's the main guy here," Mutombo said. "If I was him, if I had a chance to talk to him, he should look at it and consider this is his team. He should make the right
decision to stay here."
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