Getty Carmelo Anthony of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives on Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Carmelo Anthony should be the one teaming up with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, not Jared Dudley. At least, according to former NBA player Royce White.
“All of us here that played the game at the highest level know how good Melo is,” Royce White told Fanatics View.
But that wasn’t all he had to say. Beyond that, Landon Buford transcribed the comments from White about Anthony, and the ex-NBA player believes Melo should have gotten the nod over Dudley.
“And we know that there is no way that the Lakers would go out and sign Jared Dudley and not sign Carmelo Anthony. And another question is: ‘why a guy like LeBron is walking around like he is the face and the voice of the players?’
“How is he letting his Banana Boat Brother hang out there in the wings, and they go and sign Jared Dudley and not Carmelo? If anybody watching this thinks Jared Dudley can hold Carmelo’s jockey strap, I’ll slap them. That’s how I’m coming though!”
The Lakers and Anthony had mutual interests toward the end of last season, but a tough run of losses derailed the team’s postseason hopes. The team has had quite a busy offseason thus far, and are set to roll out an interesting roster featuring a few faces from last season.
Among the names returning are LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso. A few newcomers worth noting feature Anthony Davis, recently-injured DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels, Talen Horton-Tucker and of course, Dudley.
Could Carmelo Anthony be the missing piece? “I think next season a team will possibly bring him in,” NBA Hall of Famer, Grant Hill told me.
The Lakers do have one final roster spot and many believe that Carmelo Anthony still has some game left in the tank to compete against many of the NBA’s elite.
Carmelo Anthony Still Receiving Praise
“His first year in the league, he took a 17-win Nuggets team to the playoffs in the West as a rookie,” said Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard.
“I don’t know if they remember how good of a player he was and still is,” Blake Griffin told Landon Buford last season. “Sometimes it’s the situation. It sucks to see as a basketball player to see people act [as if] he is something [that] he is not.”
While he’s been away from the game, he’s been spending a ton of time going to his son, Kiyan’s basketball games.
“He’s a great player,” New York Knicks forward Lance Thomas told me in December.
“He’s a great teammate, most importantly he’s a great human being and he’s always been a great advocate for the NBA as a brand. So I just want him to get back on a team and play the sport he loves that’s paved a way for him and his family, and he just loves to play basketball, so I really want him back on a team.”
Carmelo Anthony has been working out with members of the Brooklyn Nets in Los Angeles. Anthony hasn’t played NBA basketball since November 8, 2018, in a game against his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Nets added two stars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, adding to a talented young roster headlined by the likes of Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie. With that said, Brooklyn will likely be without Durant for the 2019-20 NBA season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.
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