Melo offers financial advice to NBA players during suspended season
Portland Trail Blazers teammates Carmelo Anthony and CJ McCollum were in the midst of recording an episode of McCollum's "Pull Up Podcast" when they got the news the NBA was suspending the season due to the coronavirus outbreak.
After the initial surprise, Anthony proceeded to offer advice to his fellow NBA players on the importance of managing their finances.
"It forces us as athletes to educate ourself on financial literacy, what it means to save money, what it means to start portfolios," he said. "Like, this is that time because this just happened. Nobody knew this was going to happen.
"As athletes, we never think that it can happen to us. We're always, 'OK, we're good. I got this money, I got that money.' It's not until you hit a crisis when you really understand how much money you have, and what do you have in the bank and what you don't have in the bank. And checks and what you're spending. It's going to get really, really bad."
The National Basketball Players Association reportedly sent a memo to players Friday outlining a "doomsday provision" in the collective bargaining agreement that would allow owners to avoid paying a percentage of their salaries for missed games.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday the league's suspension is expected to last at least a month.