George Karl, Carmelo Anthony
Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl (L) talks with Carmelo Anthony during a time out of their 98-87 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in game 2 of the NBA Western Conference first round playoff series in Los Angeles, April 24, 2006. Reuters / Danny Moloshok

In a shocking turn of events, former Denver Nuggets coach George Karl has questioned New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony's work ethic in his new book titled “Furious George’’.

Karl coached Anthony between January 2005 and February 2011 until the superstar forward wanted out of Denver, a trade demand that was heeded by the Nuggets organisation.

“Carmelo was a true conundrum for me in the six years I had him. He was the best offensive player I ever coached. He was also a user of people, addicted to the spotlight and very unhappy when he had to share it," Karl wrote in the book, a review copy of which was obtained by the New York Post.

Carmelo Anthony is not a leader, says George Karl

Karl, who was fired by the Sacramento Kings at the end of the 2015-16 season, also questioned Anthony's leadership and his lack of effort on defence.

“He really lit my fuse with his low demand of himself on defence. He had no commitment to the hard, dirty work of stopping the other guy. My ideal — probably every coach’s ideal — is when your best player is also your leader.

"But since Carmelo only played hard on one side of the ball, he made it plain he couldn’t lead the Nuggets, even though he said he wanted to. Coaching him meant working around his defence and compensating for his attitude," added Karl, ripping into the former nine-time All-Star.

READ: Sacramento Kings open to trading Arron Afflalo

Karl, one of only nine coaches in NBA history with over 1,000 wins, also lambasted J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin, likening them to "AAU babies" and “the spoiled brats you see in junior golf and junior tennis.’’

Martin (2004-05 to 2010-11) and Smith (2006-07 to 2010-11) were Anthony's teammates in Denver and the trio were known to be close friends off the court. In fact, both Smith and Martin joined Anthony in New York a few years later in free agency. “Kenyon and Carmelo carried two big burdens: all that money and no father to show them how to act like a man,” wrote Karl.

The 65-year-old coach also blasted Carmelo Anthony for off-the-court incidents such as his DUI arrest in 2008, the time when he got “busted at the airport for having a bag of weed in his backpack’’ in 2004 and also the infamous brawl against the New York Knicks in 2006.

Karl also wrote that the Nuggets were the victors of the trade in Feb. 2011 which saw Anthony and guard Chauncey Billups going to the Big Apple in exchange for Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov and draft picks. “We won this trade, definitely".

Carmelo Anthony is averaging 22.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists this season. The Knicks, with a 15-13 record, look primed to end their three-year postseason drought.

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