NBA Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Signing With Lakers, Clippers, Knicks Or Nets?
Is Carmelo Anthony signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets?
It sure looks that way.
Anthony, 35, is a six-time All-NBA player who is widely considered be one of the most talented offensive stars in the league’s history.
For his career, the former Syracuse standout boasts averages of 24 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
After several reasonably successful runs with the Denver Nuggets and Knicks, Anthony landed on hard times with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets.
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In his last two seasons, he has averaged 16.2 points per game and 13.4 points per game, respectively.
His stint with Houston, in particular, left him essentially blackballed from the NBA.
According to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, the Portland Trail Blazers expressed some interest in bringing Anthony in this summer.
Unfortunately, his former team essentially squashed that deal.
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“Terry Stotts has some reservations about Melo being in Portland,” the ESPN reporter said.
“I don’t know whether that’s finite or not, but he does have some reservations, along with others.
“I gotta wonder if there’s anything at all that Mike D’Antoni is saying about Carmelo Anthony and whether or not that’s having an impact,” he continued.
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“Or Daryl Morey after what Melo said about how things transpired in his exit from Houston.”
So where does Anthony go from here?
According to Frank Isola of The Athletic, the Lakers, Clippers and Nets all figure to be viable options.
The Lakers recently lost DeMarcus Cousins to an ACL tear.
The thought was that they would likely leave him on the team despite that, since they didn’t necessarily need the roster space.
However, given Cousins’ recent run-in with the law, there is now a decent chance that LA cuts him altogether.
And if they do, picking up Anthony could be a good move for all involved.
The Lakers currently don’t have a ton of players who can create their own shot.
Anthony, even in his diminished state, can definitely still do that.
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If not the Lakers, the Clippers also make a certain amount of sense.
Anthony’s agent has reportedly spoken to them about possibly signing his client, and they, like the Lakers, need someone who can create his own shot.
Anthony’s big weakness is defense, and the Clippers have more than enough people on the roster who can make up for that.
The Knicks are another option.
Anthony worked out with the team last Thursday and was clearly making a strong impression on Julius Randle and several other youngsters.
There was a lot of talk earlier this summer indicating that if the Knicks had been able to acquire some bigger starpower names in free agency, they definitely would have brought Anthony in for a farewell tour.
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There is no reason not to do that anyway.
Finally, the Nets remain a strong possibility as well. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have both reportedly been pushing for the organization to take a serious look into bringing in Anthony.
For all the talk of how Anthony has been blackballed from the NBA, he is still a very talented player with a lot of friends in the league.
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It would be genuinely shocking if he did not find himself on a roster at some point this coming season.
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.
Clippers would be the best place for him cuz they got enough defense to compensate for him. Will probably end up with the Knicks or Lakers tho
Hope he ends up wit clippers perfect fit and he deserves a ring almost 20 hrs in league he def deserves it best chance clippers or lakers
Nets would work next year when kd comes back
Why would he go to the Lakers, he doesn’t fit at all. He’s basically an old Kuzma.