New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony understands the crossroads Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jahlil Okafor is going through right now.
In an interview with Marc Berman of the New York Post, Anthony said that he would like to reach out to Okafor as he understands completely what the rookie is undergoing.
"I wish I could reach out to [Okafor]. I had to learn the hard way," Anthony said. "Unfortunately. I had to figure out that I had control of my own career and which direction I wanted to go in."
"There comes a time you sit down with yourself, have some 'me' time and figure out what you want out of your life and career. There was some people I was able to get advice [from] and vent to, but a lot of my experiences I had to deal with on my own."
He also believes that the lack of veteran presence in the Sixers locker room is one of the reasons why this happened. According to Anthony, Okafor needs someone who will show him the way to being a pro in the NBA.
"You can't hold guys hands and walk them through day-to-day life. [Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis] is fortunate enough to have veterans and guys in this locker room that can talk to him and teach him," he said. "That situation with Okafor, it's an unfortunate situation."
"That could've been anybody. It happened to be him. He's dealing with that. I feel bad for him. I know those situations. Sometimes you can't control those situations."
Melo also believes that losing is affecting the morale of these players and it definitely gets in the head. Plus, there's the fact that Okafor came from a winning program, only to experience this with the Sixers.
