Getty Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony
With Kawhi Leonard now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, it’s led to the Los Angeles Lakers beginning to fill out their roster almost immediately.
In the early morning on Saturday, the Lakers signed Danny Green and proceeded to add DeMarcus Cousins this afternoon, among many other names. After the wave of free agency signings, it led to one big question from many fans.
What about Carmelo Anthony?
Anthony hasn’t played NBA basketball since November 8, 2018 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 Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks.
The third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Anthony joining the Lakers does have legs, and the team is still focused on adding playmakers to a core which features LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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Lakers Eyeing Carmelo Anthony & JR Smith
The Lakers are targeting Anthony in free agency and also have their eyes on JR Smith, who’s believed to be on the trade block currently and would likely be bought out following a deal.
“I think next season a team will possibly bring him in,” NBA Hall of Famer, Grant Hill told me.
Anthony has averaged 24.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his 16-year career with the Thunder, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets. He’s a long small forward, and is the epitome of today’s game, as he has the ability to score in a number of ways.
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.
The Rockets traded Anthony to the Chicago Bulls before the NBA’s trade deadline and he was later waived. Now, the 35-year-old is waiting for the best deal to come around, but as Sacramento Kings assist coach Bobby Jackson told NBA writer Landon Buford, he needs to find the right situation.
“I think Carmelo’s game still adapts to today’s game, it just has to be the right situation,” Jackson stated.
“With Carmelo’s situation being that he is 15 or 16 seasons in, will he be willing to take a back seat by coming off the bench and being a limited role player in that offense? I think that is the biggest question with Carmelo.”
There’s a lot that remains unknown about Anthony’s future, but landing with the Lakers for the 2019-20 season would make a lot of sense.
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