It is crazy to believe Carmelo Anthony is on his way out of the NBA or to the Chinese Basketball League or the EuroLeague.
As bad as the outlook for the former Denver Nuggets star has been over the past few seasons, he is still good enough to play on an NBA roster for the next three years.
At 34, Tracy McGrady was on the verge of retiring not because he couldn’t play but his body wouldn’t allow him to. Crippling series of knee injuries sapped the latter prime years out of him but at the same age, Anthony is not in that category. He can still score albeit inefficiently as he has done for much of his career and can do so for some time to come because of his sharp health.
Acquired as the final piece in Houston Rockets ammo to take down defending champions Golden State Warriors in the past offseason, Anthony’s time in Space City was frustrating, short and counterproductive. Carmelo couldn’t gel with the rest of Houston’s (free to shoot as many times as you wish offensive players) Chris Paul, James Harden and Eric Gordon. After just 10 games and averaging 16.4 points and 6.6 rebounds, Anthony parted ways with the team but was still on Houston’s books.
With former Nuggets Forward Kenneth Faried signed as a replacement for the injured Clint Capela and subsequent waiving of backup Forward James Nunnally, Carmelo has been moved to Chicago Bulls.
This is similar to what Oklahoma City Thunder did prior to Houston acquiring Carmelo since the Thunder moved him to Atlanta Hawks in return for Dennis Schroder. As a rebuilding team, Atlanta agreed on a buyout making Anthony free to sign with another team. Chicago is another big rebuilding team and will definitely trade Carmelo Anthony.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the major names in the running to sign him. Getting Carmelo reunites him with friend LeBron James; both men have flirted with the idea of playing on the same team. However, Carmelo should resist the idea of signing with the Lakers.
Too Much Drama with Lakers
For starters, there is way too much drama in Lakers to make it a right spot for Anthony who has been involved in drama situations in Denver, New York and Oklahoma. Los Angeles is in turbulent times with James out for an extended period to a groin injury, Rajon Rondo and Lonzo Ball joining him since and Magic Johnson’s clear unhappiness with Coach Luke Walton’s transitioning of the Lakers from a playoff-less team to a mainstream contender.
While it is in the Lakers best interest to keep LeBron out for as long as possible, his Manager Rich Paul isn’t siding with the Lakers front office’s handling of the injury as he delivered expletives regarding the situation. With the kind of narrative Carmelo has in the league, the last thing he needs is to play in a “from frying pan to fire” situation.
Playing with a friend didn’t work out
If it doesn’t work the first time, give it another try but sometimes it’s better to walk away than try again and having Carmelo in the Purple and Gold is one of them. Despite having the familiarity of Chris Paul’s play, everything with the Rockets is built on and around James Harden.
Harden thrives on having the ball in his hands for long periods and isolation plays just like Anthony in his heyday at Denver and New York. Like Paul and Harden, LeBron loves to have the ball in his hands irrespective of their propensity to assist teammates score points. This makes it a tough sell for Anthony’s time with the Lakers to be successful.
Carmelo is better off staying with other teams
By finally accepting a bench role, Carmelo Anthony has opened a host of interesting spots in the league that will prolong his career. Signing for Philadelphia Sixers gives Carmelo the chance to play iso ball and shoot his way as the lead offensive weapon off the bench for the team, Last season veterans Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli played this role for Sixers and signed improved two year contracts with Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs. It is the same with Utah Jazz who need a go to creator sans Donovan Mitchell especially in the second unit.
Carmelo’s heavy usage wouldn’t be a problem in a Utah system that thrives on a lot of ball movement. Having the opposite of that from the bench gives the team an alternative option to take teams down. As semifinalists in their respective conferences Sixers and Utah need a player with Anthony’s qualities to morph from dark horse contenders into genuine contenders.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
