Portland Trail Blazers: Adding Carmelo Anthony might make sense
While adding Carmelo Anthony might not make the most sense for the majority of teams in the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers might be the exception
The majority of NBA teams, especially the ones expected to compete for the league’s highest honor, aren’t exactly hot on the trail of Carmelo Anthony. His last two (playing stops) have not gone swimmingly. In fact, it wouldn’t be outlandish to say that they’ve been utter disasters.
Nevertheless, while Melo might not make the most sense for a team like the Los Angeles Lakers (who might actually be considered the favorites to sign him) or Miami Heat (who had rumored interest during the summer), there might be one exception in the league.
That’s the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland is 29-19, tied for third in the Western Conference. Led by Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, the Blazers are viewed as explosive but not a real threat when playoff time comes.
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(see what happened in their first-round matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans).
Nevertheless, adding Melo is the type of move that a team like the Blazers doesn’t normally have the opportunity to take advantage of in-season. Say what you want about Anthony and how he’s been almost toxic during his last few stops in the league, but it’s a risk that could be well worth the drama for Portland.
The Blazers likely don’t have enough assets to make a major move at the trade deadline, and could use the spark that Melo could provide them off the bench. If Melo can accept a bench role (which isn’t exactly a slam dunk by any means), he could add some value to this flawed Blazers roster.
Again, it should be noted that he’s not going to save or catapult this team to the next level by any means, but he’s a veteran scorer with plenty of playoff experience. If nothing else, he could be a calming force in the locker room.
This largely depends on Melo’s willingness to come to his sense, and perhaps that has happened over the last couple of months that he’s been away from the game, but adding a player like Carmelo Anthony should be a risk that the Portland Trail Blazers are willing to make.
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And if Melo is willing and ready for a fresh start, it might just actually work.