George Karl is settling scores in his new autobiography Furious George.
In it, the ex-Denver Nuggets coach criticizes Carmelo Anthony for being a fame whore who didn't try on defense, labels J.R. Smith an entitled heist with a distracting posse, and writes Anthony and Kenyon Martin "carried two big burdens: all that money and no father to show them how to act like a man."
He also referred to the trio as "AAU babies."
Martin fired back, using Twitter.
I didn't have a father going up. We all know that. What's George Karl excuse for being a terrible person
— Kenyon Martin Sr. (@KenyonMartinSr) December 22, 2016
George Karl is selfish,unhappy,missable,,cowardly person. No wonder he's be fired every place he has coached
— Kenyon Martin Sr. (@KenyonMartinSr) December 22, 2016
The book he is writing is full of lies and deceit. By far the worst coach that ever played for
— Kenyon Martin Sr. (@KenyonMartinSr) December 22, 2016
Smith had his say:
Still trying to be relevant. Sad just sad.
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) December 22, 2016
He also retweeted a statement from an old teammate.
I had some good Denver Nuggets Teammates. That dude is old and unhappy with himself.
— ReggieEvans30 (@ReggieEvans30) December 22, 2016
After initially avoiding reporters questions about Karl, Carmelo joked about the book after the Knicks defeated the Magic -- but decided not to criticize his former coach.
“It’s irrelevant to me at this point,” he said before telling reporters that they’ll understand his position “when I write my book, Stay Melo. Not Furious Melo.”
Carmelo Anthony takes the high road when talking about George Karl's book. "I just hope he finds happiness in whatever he's doing."
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 23, 2016