Knicks' Afflalo on Carmelo Anthony: 'He seems very, very, very hungry to succeed'

Carmelo Anthony has heard all the knocks against him: that he's selfish, that he's outmoded, that his defense leaves plenty to be desired, that he puts up empty stats, that he's not a winner. Last summer, he called himself "the most underrated superstar that's out there."

A year later, after an injury-plagued season in which his New York Knicks won a franchise-low 17 games, Anthony's never had more incentive to prove himself right.

According to his former Denver Nuggets and now-Knicks teammate Arron Afflalo - who's worked out with Anthony in Las Vegas and New York this summer - Anthony is both motivated and optimistic about the season ahead.

"He's very committed," Afflalo said Wednesday. "He seems very, very, very hungry to succeed. We'll see. It'll be here shortly."

Afflalo signed a two-year, $16-million deal with the Knicks last month, and cites Anthony as one of the biggest factors in his coming to New York.

"I believe he had a lot to do with it," the 29-year-old shooting guard said. "I know they value his opinion here in the organization. ... He was a big part of me getting here.

"He's very happy that I'm here. He spoke highly of me when asked, and that's all you can ask for."

Afflalo also expressed his own sense of optimism about the Knicks righting the ship in 2015-16, pointing to team president Phil Jackson's offseason acquisitions - including himself and big men Robin Lopez, Kyle O'Quinn, and Kevin Seraphin - as emblems of a necessary cultural overhaul.

"I believe all the guys he brought in have some sort of defensive, selfless mentality about wanting to protect our house," Afflalo said. "And I think it's going to work out."