Debating whether the Brooklyn Nets should take a flier on Carmelo Anthony, as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving reportedly vouch for him
The Brooklyn Nets made quite the stir during the offseason when they signed two of the top five free agents in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Even though Durant is expected to miss an entire season as he continues to recover from an Achilles injury, the Nets are expected to be one of the most fascinating teams in 2019-20.
And it could get even more interesting, should they take the challenge of adding another big name that’s still on the open market. Carmelo Anthony‘s name certainly shines brighter than his talents at this point in his career, but is reportedly a player that the Nets could sign and take a flier on ahead of the new season.
According to The Athletic’s Frank Isola (subscription required), the Nets could be the landing place for Melo. He would go on. to say that Kyrie and Durant are pushing for Brooklyn to ink Melo to a deal.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant could be the keys to Carmelo landing in Brooklyn. (And Wilson Chandler’s uncertain status doesn’t hurt either.) https://t.co/4CUUksuX0A
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) August 29, 2019
Melo reportedly was set to particpate in an informal New York Knicks scrimmage Thursday morning at Columbia University. Though, New York reportedly has no current interest in signing the former all-star.
Perhaps the Nets could have a different mindset.
In addition to Hasheem Thabeet, Carmelo Anthony is expected to join the New York Knicks’ informal 5-on-5 scrimmages at Columbia University this morning, according to league sources.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) August 29, 2019
Melo hasn’t played in an NBA game since early November and, from the looks of it, will be approaching one year without finding another landing spot after being waived by the Houston Rockets 10 games into the 2018-19 season. While that alone could be viewed as a red flag, it could also be viewed as a good thing.
Perhaps Melo is waiting for the right opportunity, and isn’t pushing the issue. Plus, from everything we’ve heard about his personality, he could probably benefit from a bit of humbling. Melo is no longer an elite talent and his game – an offensive-minded and inefficient chucker, who will be a liability on defense – is an awkward fit in today’s NBA game.
Although, it will be interesting to see if the Nets actually offer Melo a deal. Even though Kevin Durant will likely miss the entire 2019-20 season, adding Melo to this young talented core, along with Kyrie, could make for an interesting Eastern Conference contender.
Let’s take a look at it this way: what’s the worst that could happen?
For the sake of this article, let’s assume the Nets sign Melo and it’s an absolute disaster. Melo doesn’t want to come off the bench, and when he does refuses or is unable to play within the offense. At that point, assuming that Melo is signed to a one-year deal, minumum money deal, the Nets could coud just cut him.
The best case scenario is that Melo embraces his role on the offense and is a valued veteran leader in the locker room. He helps this team in their playoff push and the Nets perform better than expected. Melo rebuilds his reputation around the league, and expands his career another few seasons, possibly with the Nets.
If Carmelo Anthony is fully aware of the type of player that he is at this moment in his career, and I’m not sure that’s a forgone conclusion at this point, it wouldn’t be the worst idea for a team like the Nets to take a flier on him. It would actually be quite the storyline heading into the new campaign.