Portland Trail Blazers: 3 big questions after missing the playoffs in 2019-20

The Melo experiment

After getting off to a slow start to the season, the Blazers elected to take a shot on Carmelo Anthony. The former all-star had not played in an NBA game since the 2018-19 season but ended up being the spark that the team needed to get its wheels churning for the 2019-20 season.

In 50 games with the Blazers this season, Melo was averaging 15 points and six rebounds on 43 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. He also started every one of those 50 games. Whether you believe that he’s an effective player in today’s game is irrelevant; he was productive for the Blazers.

Perhaps Melo might not have worked on the Los Angeles Lakers or LA Clippers in a much smaller role, but he certainly was what the Blazers needed at the time of the signing. But they have to make another decision on whether to re-sign him for another season or to simply just move on from the experiment.

If he comes cheap, I lean towards the Blazers bringing Melo back for at least one more season with the team – especially if they plan on running back somewhat the same roster in 2020-21.