Carmelo Anthony Free Agency: Warriors, Lakers Loom as Question Marks

Getty Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony’s future remains a talking point, but the 10-time NBA All-Star is still on the free agency market and the chatter has been fairly quiet as of late. Although there’s no clear-cut link to any team at this point, there are a number of options that make sense as potential fits for Anthony if he continues his career for at least one more year.

The 35-year-old forward last played in the 2018-19 season, but it was a short 10-game stint with the Houston Rockets. Over that stretch, he averaged a career-worst 13.4 points along with 5.4 rebounds while shooting 40.5 percent from the field. It was Anthony’s second consecutive season in which he struggled with his shot, posting a mark of 40.4 percent the year prior with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Although there’s no guarantee that Carmelo plays during the 2019-20 season, it’s hard to argue that there aren’t teams he could be in play for at some point. We’re going to evaluate the two which stand out most, one of which is due to a close friendship and the other is based around a potential need.

Looming Lakers-Carmelo Anthony Free Agency Connection

GettyLos Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony

The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to Anthony since the middle of the 2018-19 NBA season, specifically when the injury bug bit the roster. While the two sides didn’t wind up working out a deal, possibly due to the fact that the Lakers missed the playoffs, the pairing remains an interesting one.

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The friendship between LeBron James and Carmelo is obviously noteworthy, but the Lakers roster has come together nicely and is nearly filled up with solid talent. In turn, Anthony heading to Los Angeles may be fascinating and exciting, but carving out playing time for him could become a bit of an issue.

Although the Lakers may opt against signing Anthony at this moment, he could be a name in the mix during the season depending on how things play out. Regardless, the potential pairing of LeBron and Carmelo is unlikely to cool off until the latter announces he’s wrapped up his NBA career.

Golden State Warriors Make Sense for Carmelo Anthony

Over the years we’ve seen the Golden State Warriors have a fairly similar core on a yearly basis, both with their starting lineup and second unit. But the 2019 NBA offseason has provided a number of changes and some new additions for Steve Kerr’s squad. Beyond that, it’s opened up some potential minutes off the bench.

While Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and Alfonzo McKinnie are among those who are still on the roster, the rest of the group is filled with new faces. One other key name who remains with the Warriors is Klay Thompson, who suffered a torn ACL in the NBA Finals and will likely miss at least the early part of next season.

But when evaluating the forward position, Green will obviously hold down the starting role with options like McKinnie, Omari Spellman, Eric Paschall and Alen Smailagic as the other options. Both Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks were among the Warriors’ free-agent signings and could certainly play small forward, but the overall depth in the frontcourt is somewhat lacking.

The Warriors could use Carmelo as an option off the bench, but as far as any potential interest, that hasn’t ramped up to this point. I wouldn’t expect Golden State to make a move and sign Anthony prior to the year, but if the team gets off to a slow start or opts to add another scorer to the second unit, he should be a name to watch closely.

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