Getty Carmelo Anthony is guarded by Damion Lee in a January game.
Future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony knew the Philadelphia 76ers were interested in signing him in free agency, but talks never progressed in a timely manner. The two sides never had a formal conversation, according to Anthony.
The 12-time All-Star eventually inked a one-year deal to join the Los Angeles Lakers where he’ll team up with his good friend LeBron James. Anthony explained the many options he had in free agency, including interest from the Sixers and New York Knicks, in a recent interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports:
Philly — looking at Philly. I didn’t really get a chance to really converse with Philly, but there was interest there. New Orleans had interest. The interest was there. It felt good to see that again and be a part of teams being interested in me. I was just happy to be in a situation where I had options this time around.
Carmelo Anthony mentioned there was interest from the Sixers during his free agency
Would have been excellent backup to Tobias Harris at this stage in his career. You can see a lot of influence from Melo’s game in Tobias’ play style
Sixers president Daryl Morey was the general manager in Houston when the franchise signed Anthony to a $2.4 million deal in 2018. The Rockets parted ways with the star forward after 10 games with Morey saying: “the fit we envisioned when Carmelo chose to sign with the Rockets has not materialized.” Anthony expressed a level of puzzlement upon being released.
As for his role in Philly, Anthony would have been a bench player fighting for minutes with Paul Reed and Georges Niang behind starter Tobias Harris. The 37-year-old ranks 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 27,370 career points while averaging 23.0 points per game in 1,191 contests.
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Tyrese Maxey Bulked Up, Improved Jumper
The Sixers would be foolish to include Tyrese Maxey in any Ben Simmons’ trade package. There, it’s on record. The second-year guard dazzled in the Las Vegas Summer League, then posted several videos showing marked improvement on his all-around game. His jumper has looked lethal at times.
The Sixers have bought into the offseason hype, too. The team highlighted Maxey on its official Twitter account on Wednesday and fixated on his insane work ethic. This guy is committed.
the man put on weight… and muscle 😏 @TyreseMaxey
ESPN Predicts Eastern Conference Standings
The Sixers finished with the top record in the Eastern Conference last season and earned home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. It didn’t quite end up the way anyone anticipated. Still, the organization intends to run it back with nearly the same squad from 2021 as Joel Embiid’s window starts to shut ever so slowly.
Meanwhile, a panel of ESPN’s NBA Insiders put together their predictions for the 2021-22 campaign where they projected a third-place finish for Philadelphia in the East. They picked them to go 50-32, with the Brooklyn Nets (58-24) and Milwaukee Bucks (57-25) ahead of them in the standings. The Miami Heat (49-33) were fourth.
Tim Bontemps wrote: “First up are the Sixers, who will enter training camp waiting to see if All-Star point guard Ben Simmons will follow through on his pledge to not show up if he hasn’t been traded by training camp.”
ESPN’s Eastern Conference Projections:
Nets: 58-24
Bucks: 57-25
76ers: 50-32
Heat: 49-33
Hawks: 47-35
Celtics: 45-37
Knicks: 44-38
Hornets: 40-42
Bulls: 40-42
Pacers: 40-42