NBAE Allen Iverson supports Carmelo Anthony's signing with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Carmelo Anthony is officially back in the NBA.
The 35-year-old veteran surprisingly signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers late Thursday night, which means he’ll make his return to the NBA after a one-year absence.
Anthony will join his new team as they begin a six-game road trip in San Antonio versus the Spurs on Saturday. The 16-year veteran figures to see a major role considering the Blazers’ lack of depth at the power forward position — Zach Collins is out for the next four months — and the fact that Portland did sign Anthony in the hopes that he could provide a jolt considering their woeful 4-8 record.
Needless to say, one of Anthony’s former teammates, Allen Iverson — who teamed up with Anthony on the Denver Nuggets from 2006 until 2008 — fired a tweet at the veteran forward’s signing with the Blazers.
Thank you to the @trailblazers organization for giving my guy @carmeloanthony a chance!!! Show up and show out killa!!! t.co/5fjquOrgaf
Carmelo Anthony Will Make His Return to Houston
Anthony’s return to the NBA is one of the more interesting stories of the season. In fact, he’ll make his return to Houston to play the Rockets on Monday when the Blazers visit town.
According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, Anthony’s deal will become fully guaranteed on Jan. 7 if he’s still on the roster.
“The non-guaranteed deal will reportedly pay Anthony $14,490 for each day he is on the Blazers’ roster, according to Bobby Marks at ESPN. The deal will become fully guaranteed on Jan. 7 if he’s still on the roster.”
Anthony Has Been Working Towards His Return For The Past Year
The 35-year-old Anthony is a bonafide future Hall-of-Famer with one of the most accomplished resumes in the NBA: former scoring champion, 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA player and he has over 25,000 points and 6,500 rebounds to his name.
While he’s only been to the playoffs just once since the 2013-14 season, there was a period where Anthony was a regular in the NBA postseason, making 10 straight appearances from his rookie season in 2004 until 2013 — the last time the New York Knicks appeared in the playoffs.
Anthony has been adamant about his return — although there had been very little interest over the past year. The former scoring champion stated the following back in August, maintaining that he’s in the gym every day to stay in shape, via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
“I’m in the gym every single day,” Anthony said. He also noted that “silence is not my surrender” and that he had been quiet until then because he felt he needed to step away from the game to “reevaluate myself, reevaluate my career, reevaluate my life.”
The 10-time All-Star last played for the Rockets last season before he was cut after just 10 games. He’s also played for the Oklahoma City Thunder and holds career averages of 24.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 1,064 career appearances.
Anthony will hope to give the Blazers the jolt they desperately need as they aim to win an NBA title a year after advancing to the Western Conference Finals.