Veteran NBA reporter Marc J. Spears is a Bay Area native, and never thought in a million years that the lowly Warriors he grew up watching would become the juggernaut they are today.
He did however have an inkling that they were about to get really good midway through the last decade, after watching a young Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson begin to improve. It was enough for him to tell Carmelo Anthony, who was at that point about to hit free agency, that he should consider signing in Oakland.
“I told Carmelo Anthony when he was with the Knicks and he was about to be a free agent, I was like ‘Melo, I think this Warriors team is going to be really, really good man. Like Steph, Klay, I think they’re going to be really, really good. You should consider them as a free agent,’” Spears told Tolbert & Copes on Wednesday.
“‘Hell naw, Spears,’” Carmelo responded. “‘That’s crazy. I wouldn’t even think about going there!’”
Spears could only laugh.
“‘Okay! You got it big guy.’”
Of course, the rest is history. Anthony decided to re-sign with the Knicks and would never achieve postseason success. The Warriors would go onto win the title that year, their first under Steve Kerr, and play in the next five NBA Finals.
“Hell naw I wouldn’t have guessed none of this,” Spears concluded. “I really hope the Warriors fans appreciate this. Two years ago I would have been like ‘Yeah, this is coming to an end,’ but they brilliantly drafted. Brilliantly drafted the next group that is going to hold the torch.”
Listen to the full interview below. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Catch Tolbert & Copes weekdays from 2 – 6 p.m. on KNBR 104.5 / 680 and streaming live on KNBR.com.
