Getty Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony is returning to the NBA. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Anthony will be signing with the Portland Trail Blazers. Anthony will now get the chance to play alongside two of the best guards in the NBA, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. According to Wojnarowski, the deal is non-guaranteed.
“Anthony will join the Blazers on upcoming road trip, per source,” Wojnarowski tweeted. “Power forward was the position that Blazers were most vulnerable and injury to Zach Collins only amplified void there. ‘Melo comes for a specific role and need.
According to Spotrac, Melo’s deal with the Blazers is one-year worth $2,216,990 while carrying a cap hit of $1,307,503.
Earlier this week, Anthony was cornered by TMZ and vowed that he would play again in the NBA this season.
He also did not rule out a return to New York.”We’re figuring it out,” Melo said. “We open man. We open to every opportunity.”
Anthony spent the 2018-19 season with the Houston Rockets and was a shell of his former self, playing in just 10 games and averaging 13.4 points. His last appearance was November 8, 2018, in a 98-80 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Prior to that, he spent one season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, seven seasons with the New York Knicks and eight with the Denver Nuggets, who drafted Melo with the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Syracuse.
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Melo Struggles in Houston
Before the 2018 season began, Melo signed a one-year deal with Houston, however, the 12-time all-star never got off the ground with the Rockets, lasting just 10 games into the season.
The hope was that playing alongside fellow all-star friends Chris Paul and James Harden would spark the Melo of old, but it never materialized. It was also a reunion with Mike D’Antoni, who coached Anthony with the Knicks.
In his final game with Houston on November 8, Anthony was a -22 over 20 minutes of work and scored just three points. He was released a few days later and remained unsigned until Portland stepped in on Thursday to give Melo a home.
The Big Apple Experience
Melo’s most notable time in the league undoubtedly came while he was a member of the Knicks. Anthony was an all-star all seven seasons in New York and averaged 24.7 points per game while also leading the team to three straight playoff appearances and one playoff series win between 2011-13.
Things deteriorated fast for Anthony and the Knicks after the 2013-14 season. The Knicks were 80-160 in Melo’s final three seasons in New York.
Before the start of the 2017-18 season, Anthony was traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second-round pick.
Prior to his time in New York, Anthony spent eight successful seasons with the Nuggets and took the team all the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2009 before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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