August 04, (THEWILL) –Â In a move that will brim the Los Angeles Lakers with another set of hall of famers, on Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony agreed to a contract to move to the LA side in a one-year deal according to Bay Frazier, his manager. He opted to go with the Lakers rather than the New York Knicks, where he had spent six-plus seasons previously.
It keeps the Lakers busy off-season even busier than ever and brings a good trade in for the Lakers as the 37-year-old comes with premium experience and allows Anthony move from Portland where he has spent the last two seasons
His game there transitioned to a reserve role in the 2020/2021 season where he averaged 13.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting a career-high 40.9 percent from three-point range for the Trail Blazers.
It was Anthony’s first extended period that he played as a reserve in his entire professional career, although, he was comfortable to admit that he felt comfortable with the role especially after team management said it was committed to protecting his long-term legacy.
He was quoted as saying: “In this league, and just in sports period, you don’t hear things like that. You don’t hear an organisation, or the president of a professional organisation, come to a player and sit down and let them know look ‘I want to protect your legacy.’
“You don’t hear people talk about that. You don’t hear no one talk about other people’s legacies, it’s always, ‘What can you do for us?’
“In this situation here in Portland, my biggest thing was let’s be honest with each other. Let’s be transparent with one another, whatever it is, let’s put the options out there on the table and if I feel comfortable with that, then I’ll get back to you guys and we can work on that.”
At this point in his career, Anthony is no longer at his Hall of Fame-level heights. Yet, he has seemingly carved out a niche for himself and a name to carry it forward. There may be more reserve roles for him but if he can play 20-25 minutes per night and occasionally drop 20-plus points, it will pay off as a low-cost, decent-reward signing in general.
The Lakers are no strangers to Hall of Famers and now have more to go far with. The question will be his many will be available all season without some time on the sidelines nursing injuries.
With the experience of their top players comes the factors of age, long injury spells and time for recovery. If fitness is no issue, then Anthony should slot in as a 20-minute guy on the edge of the rotation come playoff time. And that will be a huge plus for the California side.
The veteran free agent forward will team up with his longtime friend in superstar LeBron James. He joins Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, and Kent Bazemore in Los Angeles as they make changes to their roster. The Lakers are also bringing back center Dwight Howard on a one-year deal.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
