Carmelo Anthony was one of the few bright spots for the Los Angeles Lakers last year.
While the team was primarily mired in injuries, controversy and disappointment, Anthony served as something of a stabilizing and reliable figure.
Although L.A. would love to have him back in 2022-23, Anthony has caught the eye of other teams.
Multiple other teams.
This week, during a conversation with NBA insider Sean Deveney, one NBA exec touched on two legit suitors for Anthony: the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.
“(The Knicks are) considering it, a lot of teams are,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney. “He shot the ball well and he is a minimum (contract) guy. Every team is going to talk about him ahead of free agency. It would be a surprise. It would not be something that Thibs wants. He was not crazy about the Kemba Walker thing, but the Knicks had it as a homecoming thing and a good story but you saw how that worked out.
“So you bring in Melo and he is a defensive liability, Thibs does not play him, and all of a sudden, that becomes the story, just like with Kemba.”
That leaves the Nets as a logical destination.
“Melo needs to go to a better team (than the Knicks) where he is not a distraction,” the exec continued.
“If he leaves L.A., Brooklyn is a lot more of a possibility. Remember, he almost went there once before. Kevin Durant wanted him to come, and the team said no. The way things have gone there, as much BS as he put up with last year, it might be time to do something KD wants. So if Durant still wants Melo, I don’t see how the Nets pass on that.”
Anthony averaged 13.3 points per game this year on 44.1 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc. And he did it while withstanding a lot of off-the-court female drama.
The former Syracuse legend can be a valuable contributor in the right situation.
At the moment, there appears to be one clear frontrunner to steal Anthony away from the bright lights of L.A. Otherwise it feels like he may remain in purple and gold.
These 3 different angles of Joe Biden’s fall from his bicycle tell the whole story. https://t.co/X51tTQ9IRm
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 18, 2022
Where will he ultimately end up when it’s all said and done?
Time will tell.
Related: Barstool’s Dave Portnoy Reacts To Draymond Green’s Shot At Him
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
