Carmelo Anthony and Ex-Bucks Teammate Send Strength After Damian Lillard Breaks Silence on Waiver

If we needed any proof of the brutality of the professional sports business, there was the example of Carmelo Anthony. He arrived in New York in dramatic fashion but was traded out of there just as dramatically. More dramatic trades like Shaquille O’Neal’s move from Orlando to LA to Miami and that Luka Doncic shocker highlight the reality of front office operations. Now we can count Damian Lillard in this list of NBA business reality checks.

After elevating the Milwaukee Bucks and a season-ending injury, Damian Lillard  was waived this week. Fans weren’t given time to process this before rumors swirled that the team is actively pursuing the newly crowned NBA champion, Myles Tyrner as a replacement. It seems like the team cleared cap space by letting go of Lillard.

Not just fans, even Dame was reportedly blindsided. He didn’t directly respond but made a reassuring on Instagram on Tuesday night. His post contained two very poignant hashtags. “#ToBeContinued #LillardUniversity,” that showed he’s keeping a positive outlook in this involuntary free agency.

Among the many heartwarming messages from fans and big names alike, one stood out. Carmelo Anthon, his teammate from Portland and diehard Dame Tme supporter, had a profound message for Lillard. “Allah Got you champ!!! This was written already,” he commented, perhaps from experience.

Melo was not alone. Kyle Kuzma, who was Dame’s teammate since the trade deadline showed he didn’t want to see him go. He shared a string of flexed arm emojis for encouragement in the same post. Kevin Hart had a similar message and the rapper, Common, simply declared, “My brother!!”

Dame was another casualty of 2025, first suffering a blood clot in March, and then a ruptured achilles tendon in the playoffs. Though his injury would take him out for most of the 2025-26 season, fans had his back and hoped for his recovery. For fans – especially that huge faction rallying for Dame’s return to Portland – Melo’s words mean a lot more. Especially when he’s the most vocal about this situation.

Dame adds to Carmelo Anthony’s grudge with the NBA business

The future NBC panelist’s slight bias for Damian Lillard shows when he speaks about him on his podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn. Most of the time he hinged the success of the Bucks on Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Though since his trade, he was also counting on Kyle Kuzma to find his role as backup to the two stars. And Melo’s vision just poofed in the air by the Bucks’ decision.

His frustration was loud and clear when he commented on another Instagram post announcing Dame’s waiver. “No loyalty in sports,” he wrote and again commented, “Business per usual,” before leaving a final, “SMH,” to sum it all up.

The NBA business has been a big learning bell curve for Carmelo Anthony. His brushes with the business have never not been explosive. Knicks owner, James Dolan overrode then GM Donnie Walsh’s concerns to approve Melo’s blockbuster trade from Denver to New York. Melo had his prime in New York but also had friction with the organization. It eventually led to him going to OKC in 2017.

While it wasn’t a surprise – Melo even agreed to no-trade clauses with other teams – it can’t be denied that the business side of teams played a huge part in his career. It would eventually bring him to the Blazers to team up with a pre-prime Damian Lillard.

But for those hoping Lillard would return to Portland, that might not be the case. Anthony admitted he encouraged Lillard, who dreamed of having his statue there, to, “get the f–k out” of Portland just before Lillard took the surprising trade to Milwaukee in 2023. “It wasn’t like a knock to Portland but it was, ‘Champ, you in the same situation I was in, in Denver. Our loyalty gonna kill us — It’s gonna kill us!’ What do we have to see or know to make the decision? For me they had to hit rock bottom for it to be like, ‘Alright I’m gonna go,’” Anthony recalled.

Melo didn’t want Blazers fans turning on Lillard in a rebuild back then. Those sentiments might still apply. The injury-ridden Bucks are clearly on a rebuild but Damian Lillard won’t be getting the heat for that.