Carmelo Anthony was asked Friday to share his thoughts on the idea that Jeremy Lin is "the face" of the Brooklyn Nets franchise.

"What do I think about it? ... He is the face of that franchise, believe it or not. He came up, they paid him and now the ball is in his hands,” Anthony said. “So now he’s one of the franchise players over there. What do you want me to say about that? I’m happy for him, excited for him to see how it’s going to work out, turn out over there."

Carmelo Anthony said mostly the right things when asked about Jeremy Lin. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

The question arose because the Knicks play the Nets on Saturday, and Lin was a big – albeit brief – part of the Knicks' history.

Anthony said nice things about Lin in his response to the question. But some may perceive his use of the phrase "believe it or not" as a veiled shot at Lin.

There have been indirect suggestions over the years that some Knicks were unhappy with the attention showered on Lin during his Linsanity run in 2012.

Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks' coach at the time, alluded to this in a podcast with The Vertical over the summer. He said that Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire couldn’t adapt their games to play the way in which Lin thrived -- under D’Antoni’s up-tempo, spread offense. Stoudemire also hinted at the idea that some Knicks were upset that Lin received so much attention during his storybook run in 2012.

“Everyone wasn't a fan of him being the new star,” Stoudemire said last season.

Anthony didn’t refer to any of this when asked about his thoughts on Lin on Friday. So it seems like a stretch to try to interpret his quote as a shot at Lin. Lin, of course, left the Knicks in free agency in the summer of 2012. He signed an offer sheet with the Houston Rockets worth $25 million over three years, which the Knicks declined to match. Anthony at the time called Houston's offer to Lin "ridiculous", which may have been a reference to the structure of the deal. Or it may have been a veiled criticism of Lin. Like so many other aspects of the Lin/Knicks/Carmelo dynamic, it's been left open to interpretation over the years. Though it's worth noting that in the same interview Anthony said he'd "love" to have Lin back in New York.

After spending time with the Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets, Lin signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Nets this summer.