Brooklyn Nets superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving reportedly want the team to sign forward Carmelo Anthony.
Carmelo Anthony could be returning to New York, but it may not be for his former team.
After the 35-year-old informally scrimmaged with the New York Knicks on Thursday, it’s now being reported that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving want Melo on the Brooklyn Nets.
Frank Isola of The Athletic writes, “The Brooklyn Nets remain interested in potentially signing Anthony, who recently trained with a group of their players in Los Angeles, including Kyrie Irving. In fact, one source told The Athletic that Irving and Kevin Durant, who both joined the Nets in July, are ‘pushing’ the club to sign Anthony.”
Melo most definitely wouldn’t start for Brooklyn, even with Durant not playing for quite some time. Durant will miss most of the season while he nurses a ruptured Achilles. If signed, Anthony would come off the bench to add some scoring punch to the second unit.
He hasn’t played in the NBA since he appeared in 10 games for the Houston Rockets this past season, starting in two of them. In that short stint with the James Harden-led squad, Melo averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. He did this on 41% shooting from the field and 33% from behind the arc.
Anthony would be joining a talented Brooklyn squad that’s looking to become a contender in the Eastern Conference. Irving will lead them, for the most part, this upcoming season. It’s still unclear when Durant will return from injury.
At the moment, the Nets do not have an open roster spot for Anthony. But there is always a possibility that Brooklyn could create a roster spot through a buyout or trade.
