Carmelo Anthony is a 10x All Star, a 3x Olympic Gold medallist, and a 6x All NBA selection. He’s a first ballot hall of famer, who’s already in the top 10 of the career scoring list and is only 39pts behind Moses Malone for 9th place all time. The only thing that’s eluded him thus far in his decorated career is an NBA championship. By signing with LeBron and the Lakers on Tuesday, he hopes to change that.
Amidst a flurry of roster moves in the last few days, the Los Angeles Lakers have dramatically reshaped their roster ahead of the 2021-22 season. In addition to the blockbuster trade that brought Russell Westbrook to the West Coast, the Lakers also re-signed Talon Horton-Tucker to a 3yr/$32M deal, and brought in Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk in separate moves to bolster their bench.
Dwight Howard is also back following a year in Philadelphia, while fan favourite Alex Caruso will be joining the Bulls after LA elected not to match the offer from Chicago.
Yet it’s the Carmelo signing that’s caught the attention of die hard hoops fans, as he’s largely viewed (along with Chris Paul) as one of the best active NBA players to have never won a championship. Not only that, but for all the individual success Anthony has enjoyed over the years, his teams have actually never even BEEN to an NBA Finals in his 18 years in the league.
Anthony, who came off the bench for the Trail Blazers last season averaged 13.4 ppg in only 24 minutes of action while shooting a career best 41% from beyond the 3pt line. While financial details have yet to be released, the contract is expected to be around the veteran minimum to allow for additional flexibility for the Lakers to build a championship roster. Last year Anthony played on a $2.5M deal with Portland.
At this stage of his life Anthony is more focused on winning a title to cap off a remarkable career than he is with contract sizes. Having already earned more than $260M in playing salary alone (and millions more in endorsement opportunities) the Anthonys are set financially for the foreseeable future.
In much the same way that many were pulling for the Suns to win the NBA Finals so Chris Paul could earn a ring, there will be a healthy dose of “win one for Melo” going on in LA this season. And fans across the league will get to see if LeBron can help another of his banana boat buddies capture an NBA title. If he’s successful, cue the CP3 to LA rumours to complete the trifecta.