Getty Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony is still not a member of an NBA team.
Joining the Lakers is the hope of many including one Los Angeles Rams safety.
“Not going to lie I think it’ll be very cool if Carmelo joins,” Los Angeles Rams safety, Steven Parker told me at the football camp of Los Angeles Chargers’ Jeff Richards in Del City, Oklahoma.
Parker has had a successful preseason with the Rams at the safety position. In a recent game against the Oakland Raiders, Parker intercepted Raiders quarterback Mike Glennon at the goal line as they were going in for a score late in the second quarter.
Parker returned the pick 39 yards, out to the 40-yard line before an offensive member of the Raiders finally brought him down.
Facing second-and-9 at the Rams’ 12-yard line, Glennon dropped back and aimed in the direction of tight end Derek Carrier. However, Parker anticipated the pass perfectly and snatched it out of the air, taking it the other direction to hold what was a 7-0 deficit at the time right there.
“It’ll be good for the team. I’ll love to see them together. They might mold. That’s what basketball is about. You can have all the best players in the world, but they might not mesh together. It’s not going to be a great turnout. If they do something like that, I hope it works out.”
Carmelo 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 Lakers and Anthony had mutual interests toward the end of last season — until a mound of LA losses occurred.
The Lakers had quite a busy offseason. Six players returned from last season.
That list includes: LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso.
Lakers newcomers include: Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Jared Dudley, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels and rookie Talen Horton-Tucker.
The Lakers also have a new head coach in Frank Vogel and assistant coach in Jason Kidd.
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.
“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.
“He is one of the best 300 players in the world that’s not playing,” TNT’s Kenny Smith told me in April.
“You can’t say he’s not one of the best 300 players.”
“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 Knick, 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.”
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Carmelo Anthony Joining Lakers ‘Good for Team’ Says LA Rams DB