Back in the mid-2000s, plenty of NBA coaches would have done anything to get a small forward like Carmelo Anthony. But George Karl, who actually had him with the Denver Nuggets, wasn’t sure that was the version of Melo he wanted.
Kenyon Martin recently pulled back the curtain on how clear that became during his and Anthony’s time under the 2013 Coach of the Year. It didn’t take long for it to surface — according to K-Mart, it came up right in their very first meeting.
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The infamous Detlef Schrempf comparison
Recently, Martin sat down on Byron Scott’s “Fast Break” podcast. During one segment, he recalled what longtime NBA fans may remember hearing years ago.
By his account, Karl told Anthony, in their first meeting after taking over in January 2005, that he wanted him to play like another forward he had coached. According to Martin, that meant playing “more like Detlef Schrempf.”
Schrempf had been a two‑time All‑Star with Karl’s Seattle SuperSonics teams in the 1990s. Karl admired him deeply. He once called him “the most efficient player” he’d ever coached. He even suggested Schrempf was Hall of Fame‑caliber.
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While some of it might be a little over the top, Schrempf indeed was efficient. Take his 1994–95 season with the Sonics, for instance.
The Grand Teuto shot well over 50 percent from downtown with a 56.9 percent effective field goal percentage. He averaged 19.2 points per game that year. Years later, Karl also called Schrempf one of the best international players ever on social media.
Put it all together, and Karl was trying to help. He wanted Anthony, never known for efficiency, to take something from the former German forward. It didn’t come across that way, though.
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Melo, just 20 and fresh off a playoff‑leading rookie season, was irritated. Martin remembered his own reaction, stating, “Word? He said that to you?”
Hosts Scott and Jay Wagers were equally surprised. Melo, after all, is regarded as one of the greatest scorers in the game, and being likened to a more role‑oriented player in Schrempf didn’t sit right with them.
Locker room issues
There was confusion and irritation in the studio when Martin shared the story. Right after, he actually made a great point.
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The comparison itself wasn’t the issue, the 2004 All-Star said. The problem was that Karl was “new to the situation.”He hadn’t “checked the pulse.” He made that call before really getting to know Anthony.
How was he supposed to know Melo would be fine with that? That it would even land? Shouldn’t he have figured out first how his franchise player was wired?
Ultimately, Karl didn’t. The writing was already on the wall.
A young, high‑flying player who was feeling himself, a little bit stubborn, clashed against an old‑school head coach who felt he could coach anyone the same way.
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Martin empathized with Anthony in that clash. Had he been told in that situation to play more like the Grand Teuton, K‑Mart would have just shrugged and gone, “Like, who?”
Ultimately, that not‑seeing‑eye‑to‑eye situation was just one of the many things where many Nuggets players just couldn’t coexist with Karl, Martin added.
It felt off, as the 2000 top‑draft‑pick said, right from the start. The wins kept piling up, nonetheless. It made it all go away. But as soon as that stopped, the energy was “shifting.”
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By Martin’s account, Karl’s personality in particular didn’t match the locker room. And that first meeting with Anthony showed that.
K‑Mart isn’t the first to have pointed that out. In recent years many former players of Karl have spoken publicly about that. One of the most vocal ones? You guessed it — Anthony. It all adds up to why the Hall of Famer and his former Nuggets head coach have a longstanding feud.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.