Carmelo Anthony is still looking for a team and now that they have space on the roster, the Los Angeles Lakers will seriously consider Melo.
It seems like yesterday that Carmelo Anthony was lighting up Madison Square Garden and one of the top players in the league. Now he’s just looking for his next team.
Perhaps he could be donning the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers in the near future. After some minor trade deadline movement from Los Angeles, there is space on the roster to add a player.
Lakers will now seriously look at signing Carmelo Anthony, per source. https://t.co/7eV4ReNGlI
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) February 7, 2019
Although no deal appears to be in place, the Lakers could use Anthony’s shooting ability to space the floor around LeBron James. Of course, Anthony’s defense is a total liability, but he can definitely knock down open looks.
James might need to coax his old friend into accepting a lesser role than he enjoyed for much of his career. Melo was willing to do so with the Houston Rockets so it’s likely that he’ll do the same in Los Angeles.
The 34-year-old could definitely bring crucial floor-spacing to the Lakers—a team that lacks many capable three-point shooters. “Olympic Melo” comes to mind as the perfect prototype for if and when Anthony joins the Lakers. He can loiter out by the three-point line while players like LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, and Lonzo Ball break down the defense.
In 10 games with the Rockets, Anthony shot poorly from deep. He was only 32.8 percent from three-point range and only 31.4 percent on catch and shoot threes per NBA.com.
Those numbers aren’t great for a player that is coming in for the sole purpose of floor spacing. But Anthony has made a living from taking and making shots. In the right system, and surrounded with the right players, Anthony could fill a vital role off the bench.
Then again, if Anthony’s defense is beyond repair, his NBA career could be grinding to a halt.
