On Sunday in Washington, D.C., getting ready for a practice with Team USA, New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony turned the Jeremy Lin conversation on its ear by calling Lin's big free-agent offer not "bold" or "aggressive" but "ridiculous."

Anthony later pulled back a bit, saying he hoped Lin would return to the Knicks, but the word "ridiculous" shifted the discourse permanently in that instant. While most of the NBA was wrestling with how to value Lin -- was he worth that much? -- Melo betrayed no such struggle: His teammate had not earned the $25.1 million contract offer the Rockets had presented him. It was hard not to infer that he didn't want the Knicks to match the offer and keep Lin.

Where did that come from? What reasons would Anthony have to be anything but supportive of Lin, a player who had thrilled Knicks fans and could help the team return to its former glory?

The reasons are much deeper than they first appear and, according to sources close to Carmelo and the Knicks, have roots in the saga of LeBron James, The Decision, Melodrama and much more.

Anthony didn't join the Knicks in 2011 to be just a player. He came to build a basketball family. Despite his messy departure from Denver, he came to New York envisioning an opportunity to create a refuge from the backstabbing and intrigue that plagues many teams. Lin, though by all accounts a great teammate, was seen as a potential threat to what Anthony was creating.

You only have to read the news to learn that those charged with helping an NBA player reach his potential -- the players' association, agents, coaches, teammates, even family and friends -- are not always especially faithful about keeping the player's best interests at heart. The multiple agendas can be conflicting and confusing, on and off the court. By the time they have been in the league a few years, most players have been ripped off or feel shortchanged by somebody or another. It's a bad feeling.

And in particular, on many teams there is very little trust among players, owners, coaches and the front office. Often, it's every man for himself, even amongst teammates.

But, right before our eyes, a lot of that is changing.

When James left Cleveland for Miami, he was protecting himself from mistrust by creating his own family of sorts. He wanted to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, longtime friends and teammates on Team USA. He found people to trust in Heat executive Pat Riley -- a much-admired figure among NBA stars -- and in Riley's protégé, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. And with Riley and Heat owner Micky Arison as the patriarchs of a small front office, and former Miami stars keeping close ties to the team, the Heat had already created the kind of family atmosphere that appealed to LeBron.