Getty The Lakers bench in 2021-22
A Los Angeles Lakers rival has been urged to sign an ex-Laker. Heavy.com senior insider Sean Deveney spoke to an Eastern Conference executive who believes the New York Knicks should sign Carmelo Anthony.
“Like, why not just sign Melo already? If they make a trade and they wind up with a roster spot, they’ve got to do that,” the exec told Deveney. “They need a good story. He needs a good ending. Make it happen, right?”
Anthony, who is close friends with Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James, is currently an unrestricted free agent. The 10-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA swingman averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists last season while shooting 44.1% from the field, 37.5% from beyond the arc and 83.0% from the free-throw line. Anthony was fifth on the Lakers in scoring, third in 3-point makes and fourth in win shares. The future Hall of Famer was heavily linked to the Boston Celtics after the Cs lost Danilo Gallinari to an ACL injury. However, the Celtics never signed Melo.
Anthony, 38, played in 412 regular-season games for the Knicks from 2011 to 2017. He averaged 24.7 points and 7.0 rebounds and made seven All-Star teams. The New York native is the seventh-leading scorer in Knicks franchise history.
The Knicks Talked About Signing Anthony Over the Summer
In June, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that the Knicks discussed signing Anthony. However, New York used its cap space on Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein and Svi Mykhailiuk. The franchise also re-signed RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks are 8-9 on the season, good for 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Lakers are worse, sitting at 5-10 and in 13th place in the Western Conference standings.
On April 11, 2022, Anthony spoke with Dave McMenamin of ESPN about his experience playing for the Lakers, who missed the playoffs last season.
“This was another chapter for me,” Anthony told McMenamin. “I can say I’ve experienced it. … I can finally check the box — played with Bron. Played with AD. We had, on paper — we were phenomenal on paper. Me, personally, I had a good year, personally. Just as far as happiness and being able to go out there and compete and being able to do my part, play my part on this team. There were good days, there were bad days, but we got through it, and I got through it.”
Anthony has career averages of 22.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in 1,260 regular-season games with the Denver Nuggets, Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Lakers. He scored at least 20 points 11 times for the Lakers last season, proving he’s still a talented scorer off the bench.
Could Anthony Follow Dwight Howard?
Huang Chiao-Wen and James Lo of Focus Taiwan reported on November 13 that the Tainan TSG GhostHawks of the T1 League are hoping to sign Anthony. Former Lakers center Dwight Howard signed with the Taoyuan Leopards, who are in the same league as the GhostHawks.
“Tainan TSG GhostHawks head coach Liu Meng-Chu said Sunday that Taiwan Steel Group had greenlit the signing of a marquee overseas player, with a deal for NBA free agent Carmelo Anthony already in the works,” Huang Chiao-Wen and James Lo wrote. “At a pregame press conference ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Taoyuan Leopards, Liu said the GhostHawks had opened talks with former Los Angeles Laker Anthony’s representatives.”
Howard made his debut in Taiwan’s T1 League on November 19 and went off for 38 points, 25 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks to lead the Taoyuan Leopards to a 120–115 victory over New Taipei CTBC DEA. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year attempted 10 3-pointers and hit two of them.
The third overall pick in the legendary 2003 draft, Anthony is 11th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 28,289 points. He won the 2012-13 scoring title and scored 62 points against the Charlotte Bobcats on January 24, 2014, as a member of the Knicks.