Carmelo: Coming off bench next season 'out of the question'

The Oklahoma City Thunder held their end-of-season press conferences Saturday after losing their first-round series with the Utah Jazz in Game 6 on Friday night, and Carmelo Anthony had some bold comments about his role with the team moving forward.

Anthony struggled mightily against the Jazz, averaging just 11.5 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting, and was even benched during the 32-7 run that kept the Thunder's season alive in the fourth quarter of Game 5. Even so, he didn't back down when asked about changing his role if he stays in Oklahoma City next season.

"I'm not sacrificing no bench role. So that's out of the question," Anthony told reporters, according to ESPN's Royce Young.

"As far as being effective as that type of player," he added, "I don't think I can be effective as that type of player."

Anthony averaged just 16.2 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting from the field - both career lows - in his first season adjusting to life as a third option behind Russell Westbrook and Paul George.

While George's future with the Thunder is up in the air, Anthony will most likely remain in OKC, as he has a $27.9-million player option to exercise in the final year of his contract before becoming a UFA in the summer of 2019.