Carmelo Anthony Wants a Dwyane Wade Send-off Tour That's Just Never Going to Happen

The farewell tour has become pretty popular in the NBA over the last few years. Much of the popularity comes from the legends that had announced their retirements prior to the beginning of their final season--look no further than Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade.

Carmelo Anthony believes that he should have the same chance. According to his trainer Chris Brickley, Melo is better than 70 percent of the NBA and wants one more season to have a proper farewell similar to Kobe and Wade.

But with this statement, the question at hand is who exactly qualifies for a Kobe/Wade style farewell tour?

Kobe and Wade had spectacular endings with the teams that they had begun their careers with. There were high-scoring nights and tight games, and fans traveling from all over for the chance to catch one of their last appearances on the court. Guys like Dirk Nowitzki and most of the retired Spurs had more low-key farewell tours, where they were still welcomed and honored by each of their opponents.

But players like Paul Pierce have found that farewell tours aren't really meant for everyone after a final season full of less than spectacular greetings and reactions as he traveled through the league.

So where does Melo fall? Unlike Kobe, Wade, Dirk, and the Spurs, he did not stay with one team across the majority of his career, much less his entire career. He has also been troubled with inconsistent play the past few years. Lastly, Melo is still waiting on an opportunity from literally any NBA team! To ask for a farewell tour at this juncture is just premature.

Carmelo has definitely shown his greatness through the years, there's no doubt about that. But before he can think about a farewell tour, especially on the magnitude of Wade, he needs to find a team to play for.