To be honest I actually have never really hated on Melo the way a lot of people have.
He has his limitations and always has, but when he was in his prime he was one of the greatest scorers I have ever witnessed.
I think Melo and Kobe are probably the only two guys I've ever seen in the modern era (2000s) who were literally impossible to defend.
I remember watching Boston play Melo's teams and Kobe's teams, and sincerely struck fear in to me because if you had any less then about a 20 point cushion going in to the 4th you knew anything could happen. Both of those guys were capable of single handedly digging their team out of a 20 point hole in the space of like 6 or 7 minutes if they were hot.
And as much as people criticized Melo, I actually feel like he always played hard and with a ton of heart, even if he didn't do so on the defensive end. A lot of those games against the Knicks, Melo would be out there playing stupid minutes, chasing loose balls, fighting to the very end. I never felt he was one of those guys who just wanted his numbers - I felt he really did care about winning and tried to play his heart out. I feel that the bad times hit when he started to get older and just couldn't do the things that he USED to be able to do, and I kinda feel like mentally he just never learnt to accept that.
It's like when a great shooter gets into a shooting funk, you don't stop shooting - you keep shooting until you find your shot again, because you know eventually it'll come back. I feel like that's the mentality Carmelo had - like he wasn't declining in ability, he was just in a funk...and if he kept taking those same shots that he knew he could make all day every day, then eventually it would would all come back again. But it never did, but it wasn't just a funk - it was a decline in ability.
I feel that deep down inside he just never accepted that, which is why he couldn't accept lesser roles on teams. Because he felt he was still that superstar guy just trying to make that 25 PPG scorer return.
I feel now he's finally realised and accepted that this old superstar Melo is gone, and isn't coming back. I think he's recognised that he DOES still have something to offer a team, but for him to help a team he needs to change his mentality and treat himself like a role player. Come in, don't try to do everything - just let the game come to you and do the things that you're good at when your team needs it.
I really believe he still has a LOT to offer a team, but it's entirely dependant on his ability to accept what he has become and embrace that.