Getty Carmelo Anthony, Los Angeles Lakers
Since his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers expired, Carmelo Anthony has remained a free agent, and with less than a week to go before the start of the new NBA season, it looks like he won’t be joining a team any time soon.
World-renowned NBA skill trainer Chris Brickley took to Twitter on October 11 to share his thoughts on Anthony still being unattached at this late juncture of the off-season, making it clear that the veteran superstar still has plenty to offer if given the opportunity.
“Melo is ready, he’s been ready….He could help MANY teams. Also to anyone that says @carmeloanthony isn’t in the league bcuz of defense….well….he had the best defensive rating of his career last season,” Brickley Tweeted.
Anthony was solid for the Lakers last season, providing the team with 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and an assist per game while shooting 37.5% from deep and 52.1% from two-point range. Sure, the veteran forward began to cool off in the later months of the season, but he had been shouldering a significant workload off the bench for the majority of the season.
LeBron James Shouts Out Carmelo Anthony
Brickley isn’t the only person who is still a believer in what Anthony can bring to the table. On September 23, Lakers superstar LeBron James took to Twitter to show his love for the former New York Knicks star.
Anthony might not be the prime-time scorer he was during his prime, but over the past three seasons, he has proven to be a valuable bench player capable of providing a spark off the bench. Furthermore, Anthony’s size always promises to provide his teams with a presence on the defensive glass – something most coaches can never get enough of.
With support from LeBron and Brickley, it’s surprising no team has taken a chance on Anthony this summer – even if that chance was simply adding him to their training camp roster. Of course, there is still plenty of time for things to change, and for Anthony to find himself on another NBA roster in the coming months.
Boston Celtics Considered Signing Anthony
Earlier in the post-season, it did seem like Anthony would get another shot at fighting for a championship ring – this time with the Boston Celtics. Brad Stevens is certainly aware that his team is lacking depth at the forward positions, and a significant portion of Boston media and the fanbase believed that Anthony could be the answer to that problem.
The Celtics are reportedly interested in signing Carmelo Anthony.
@Scalabrine is all for it!
“Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, they look up to guys like that. They looked up to Joe Johnson and Brad [Stevens] thought it was really cool to bring Joe Johnson in. I think it should be the same kind of thing. Carmelo Anthony, if you watch him on Instagram, he’s kind of helping his son out, he’s working out younger kids – I could see how there could be some advantages to having Carmelo on the roster, not just on the playing side, but also the mentoring side of our two stars,” Former Celtics player, Brian Scalabrine said during a September 6 appearance on NBA Radio.
However, Boston ended up signing Blake Griffin to a one-year deal instead, and now, Anthony remains a free agent without a clear path back to the league. Hopefully, having Brickley in his corner will help convince another team to give him the lifeline his performances last season deserve.