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Carmelo Anthony has not played NBA basketball since November 8 in a game against his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A 10-time NBA All-Star, Anthony signed with the Houston Rockets this summer after clearing waivers in a trade that shipped him from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks.
The third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers had been leaning toward signing Anthony for the rest of the season — until a mound of LA losses occured.
The Lakers won’t make the NBA Playoffs this spring.
So what’s next for Carmelo Anthony?
“I hope he will be on a team next year,” retired NBA player Jerome Williams told me on today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“I hope he’ll be on a Big 3 team next year.”
If you’re keeping score at home: Williams, affectionatley known to the hoops world as the Junkyard Dog is now a seasoned vet with Ice Cube’s Big 3 and he’s keeping it in the family.
“Detroit Pistons have one of the strongest frontcourts in the NBA.” – @JunkYardDogJW
This wks episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast will be the @thebig3‘s own Jerome “Junkyard Dog” Williams.
Drops at midnight ET! Subscribe to the Scoop B Radio Podcast – t.co/SYf6n69quw
As for Anthony, he’s averaged 24 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 assists in his career with the Thunder, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets.
A long forward, Anthony is the epitome of today’s game, honestly. He can score.
But he’s also contemplated retirement.
In an interview with Taryn Finley of the Huffington Post recently, Melo suggested he is at peace with the fact he may not play much longer:
“I’m sure [retirement is] coming soon. I’d be sitting lying to you if I said it’s not coming soon. I think I want it to come soon. I don’t think I want to do this forever, but because you love it so much, it’s hard to give it up. At the end of the day, at anything you do, when it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go. But as long as you feel good with that.”
“He is one of the best 300 players in the world that’s not playing,” TNT’s Kenny Smith told me.
“You can’t say he’s not one of the best 300 players.”
Is age a factor or something else? It’s a personal choice, it seems.
While on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Jerome Williams discussed the NBA’s ironman, Vince Carter who is currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks and is wrapping up his 21st season in the NBA.
As it relates to Carter, Williams believes that age ain’t nothing but a number! “I don’t ever put a cap on age,” Williams tells Scoop B Radio.
“I came back and played in the league at 45, so I don’t put a cap on how old you could possibly be. All I know is that if you take care of your body, as Vince has done, if you’re diligent in your work ethic, which Vince has shown, if you’re willing to teach younger players and your body can hold up, then there’s no limit. You always need a veteran in the locker room on given teams where they’re young and they’re trying to improve their team but might not have pieces to be a playoff contender; there’s always those jobs in the NBA. Vince has found this nice niche for himself where he’s shown that that’s his niche. He’s willing to go and come off the bench, play spot minutes and for some superstars, that is a tough pill to swallow.”
How does that apply to Melo?
“Carmelo Anthony at this time is making a transition because it’s a decision you have to make as a player,” Williams tells Scoop B Radio.
“How do you want this to end? Do you want to help a young team? Or do you want to keep chasing the trophy and the ring? When you chase the trophy and the ring, a lot of time, those careers end abruptly because teams have to go in a certain direction. You either let the young players play or they have to get better through trades.”