Getty Dennis Schroder #71 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket on Carmelo Anthony #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
It appears the rumors tying Carmelo Anthony to the Boston Celtics weren’t all smoke after all. Ever since Danilo Gallinari was diagnosed with an ACL tear, Anthony’s been the one name that’s come up time and time again as a possible Gallinari replacement. When Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe listed Anthony among Gallinari’s possible replacements on September 3, he mentioned that there has been “traction” between the two sides.
“This is starting to gain traction because Anthony may be the best shooting forward left on the market, and he has shown to be productive offensively despite his age.”
Washburn noted that Anthony’s durability and scoring numbers with the Los Angeles Lakers last season make him an interesting option for the Celtics. On Carmelo’s end, Washburn believes the Celtics could give him an opportunity not many NBA teams could this coming season.
“He turned 38 in May, but he managed to play 69 games last season and average 13.3 points off the bench,” Washburn said. “Anthony has remained in great shape and can still score. He had 20 or more points in 11 games last season and played 26 minutes per game, showing his durability. Anthony wants an opportunity to win a championship, and this could be his best chance.”
Over the course of his NBA career, Anthony has only won three playoff series. Two with the Denver Nuggets in 2009 and one with the New York Knicks in 2013 – against the Celtics. In the 13 seasons Anthony has made the playoffs, he has amassed 28 wins in total, according to StatMuse.
Jayson Tatum Likes Tweet Mentioning Anthony
When the Twitter account “Legion Hoops” aggregated Washburn’s report regarding the Celtics and Anthony on September 5, the Twitter account “Hollywood Gussy,” which is an account that Jayson Tatum follows, quote-tweeted the report saying, “God if (you) want me to get a signed Melo jersey, just say that.”
Tatum went on to like this tweet, meaning that he’s aware of the rumors. By liking the tweet, Tatum may very well have revealed that Anthony is indeed on his way to the Celtics, or at the very least, that he would sign off on bringing Anthony in.
Insider Keeps Hinting Anthony’s Going to Boston
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports was the first to report that the Celtics were interested in Anthony when he reported that they considered him a “potential signee” on August 30.
Carmelo Anthony has been considered a potential signee by the Boston Celtics in recent days following Danilo Gallinari’s suffered torn meniscus in his left knee on Saturday, I’m told.
Knicks are still believed to have interest in the former Laker, Thunder, Blazer, Rocket.
Since then, Robinson has also added on September 2 that the Celtics were the number one suitor for Anthony among the fives teams that were reportedly interested in him.
Since then, Robinson has left not very subtle tweets indicating that he believes Anthony will be going to Boston. When anything Carmelo Anthony-related has come up via Twitter since September 5, Robinson has quote-tweeted it with a shamrock emoji, which many associate with the Celtics.
When Anthony tweeted about fundamentals with pictures of him doing a workout on September 5, Robinson quote-tweeted it with the shamrock emoji.
When Gary Washburn asked if the Celtics should go get Anthony after Gallinari has his torn ACL confirmed on September 2, Robinson quote-tweeted with the shamrock emoji on September 5.
When Washburn’s report about there being traction between the Celtics and Anthony got aggregated by the Twitter account, “NBA Retweet,” on September 6, Robinson did the same thing again.
While this doesn’t confirm that Anthony is going to Boston, it does insinuate that Robinson is confident that Anthony will end up with the Celtics.