As the Los Angeles Lakers fight to get healthy for the stretch run towards the playoffs, the possibility of adding Carmelo Anthony is still very real
The Los Angeles Lakers have fallen on hard times to start the 2019 calendar year. Since losing LeBron James, the team is 5-8 and has fallen all the way out of the top 8 in the Western Conference.
To make matters even worse, it was just announced that Lonzo Ball would miss the next 4-6 months with a bad ankle injury. Oh, and Rajon Rondo is still recovering himself from injury. The team is so beat up that Brandon Ingram is starting at point guard tonight against the Golden State Warriors.
Still, with all that said, the growing belief is that the Lakers will be OK. LeBron is expected to return to the lineup sooner rather than later, and he should stabilize things for the most part.
One player that the Lakers could still add, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, is Carmelo Anthony. Melo was recently traded to the Chicago Bulls, and will likely be waived at some point over the next few weeks. He will be feel to sign with a contender, probably by the NBA Trade Deadline.
Sources: The Lakers maintain interest in Anthony, but do not want to waive a guaranteed player to create a roster spot for him, league sources tell ESPN. If a roster spot eventually opens with LA, yes, the Lakers are a possible destination for Anthony.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 21, 2019
The Lakers have to be considered the favorite to land Melo, considering the LeBron angle and the fact that Los Angeles really needs to add some sort of talent ahead of the stretch run.
Question is, would Melo be the answer? On the surface, that’s probably a resounding no. Melo has been an utter disaster in his last two playing stints, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and then with the Houston Rockets (where he didn’t even last the year).
While there is a role for Melo to play at the power forward position, which is the only spot where Melo can play at this point in his career, I’m not sure if he’d be willing to come off the bench and play an extremely small role (compared to what he’s been used to playing).
The hope is that LeBron could keep Melo in check, due to their great relationship. But everything we know about Carmelo Anthony, as of late, suggests that this potential pairing simply won’t work. Try to sell the Lakers on that, though.
Barring some unforeseen circumstance, I firmly believe that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to be the next stop for Melo. Buckle up, Lakers fans.