Iman Shumpert on Melo’s hiatus: “I thought it was disrespectful for him to be out of the league anyway.”

Free Agent forward Iman Shumpert spoke with Fanatics View’s Kelly McGill on numerous topics such as being unsigned and his thought process after declining an offer to return to the Houston Rockets.

“When I turned down the Houston deal, it kind of threw everybody off,” Shumpert began. “We just couldn’t come to an agreement. I just sort of bet on myself and said ‘I’m gonna work out’. I feel like my reputation and my body of work speaks for itself. I feel like I could help any team in the league.”

Shumpert is good friends with current Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas, who earlier in the offseason said it was disrespectful that Shumpert and other stars such as Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, and Jamal Crawford were still unsigned.

“Me and Isaiah used to play ones after practice, trying to get him back right when he went through the stuff with his hip. Isaiah was up for a max (contract), and then he hurts his hip. You know, everybody just sort of forgot about him. All of us talk. Me and Isaiah have been playing against each other since the NBA 100 camp. That’s one of the guys. Jamal Crawford is one of the guys. JR Smith. All of us were sitting there having conversations. Me and Melo. It was huge for us to keep talking and keep flying everywhere to work out with each other.”

When asked about his thoughts on Carmelo Anthony’s return to the league, who was signed by the Portland Trail Blazers, Shumpert said: “I thought it was disrespectful for him to be out of the league anyway. That’s my guy.”

“Melo taught me a lot,” Shumpert continued. “I knew out of everybody that he may not be ideal for the new game, but acting like he should be removed from the game, I didn’t think was respectful at all.”