George Karl says J.R. Smith had a 'distracting posse,' rips Carmelo Anthony in latest book

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Former Denver Nuggets coach George Karl had some choice words for a few of his former players in his upcoming memoir titled “Furious George,” that’s set to be released in January.

Karl writes that J.R. Smith had “a huge sense of entitlement, a distracting posse, his eye always on the next contract and some really unbelievable shot selection,” according to an advanced copy obtained by the New York Post.

Knicks General Manager Phil Jackson recently found himself in hot water when referring to LeBron James‘ “posse” in a recent interview with ESPN.

Karl also took aim at former Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony calling him “the best offensive player I’ve ever coached,” but a “user of people,” “addicted to the spotlight and very unhappy when he had to share it.”

The book, which is set to be released in January, chronicles Karl’s 40 years in the NBA.

More from the Post:

“He really lit my fuse with his low demand of himself on defense. 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 defense and compensating for his attitude.”

Karl coached the Nuggets from 2005-2013 and compiled a 423-257 record with Denver presiding over a 2009 Western Conference Finals playoff run and the 2011 trade which sent Anthony to the Knicks.