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As if this season couldn’t get any more ridiculous, it’s starting to sound as if Carmelo Anthony (at least in part) is having seconds thoughts on joining the Los Angeles Lakers, if you are to believe Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Apparently, fans who did not want to see a(nother) washed up small/power forward who won’t play any defense have the team’s recent slide to thank for avoiding such a scenario:
The Los Angeles Lakers and free agent Carmelo Anthony are pausing talks on a possible contract agreement unless the franchise makes a turn back toward pursuit of Western Conference playoffs contention, league sources told ESPN.
The Lakers had been leaning toward signing Anthony for the rest of the season -- until losses in four of the past five games left the organization and Anthony’s camp wondering if it made sense to bring Anthony, 34, into an unsettled environment with suddenly so little chance of making the playoffs, league sources said.
Bringing 'Melo into team that may not have meaningful games left makes little sense for the organization or him. Lakers had waited to see who could be available for them in buyout market. For now, makes more sense for Lakers to use minutes on young players than a 34-year-old FA. https://t.co/R0rl1sqHwQ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 4, 2019
The Lakers’ disinterest in Anthony has been pretty obvious throughout the season, so it’s hard not to feel as if this is both sides agreeing to save face and move on from something that probably wouldn’t have worked out in the first place.
If you’re interested in what Melo is looking for in his destination, Woj has you covered:
Anthony, a 10-time All-Star, had been hoping to find a new team that would provide a positive conclusion to his season after such an abrupt 10-game stay with the Houston Rockets.
Look, Anthony has only ever been linked to the Lakers this season because of his friendship with LeBron James. There may not necessarily have been any direct public pressure put on Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka to bring him in, but there have certainly been some incredibly obvious hints along the way.
It’s also fairly hilarious to think that Carmelo Anthony, who has essentially spent this season unemployed for three different organizations, is looking at the Lakers at last call and saying, “No thanks, I have standards.” Every time you think this season reaches rock bottom, give it a week or so and you’ll be looking up at the previous low point.
Fortunately for all involved, it looks like this story is heading in the same direction as Anthony’s career — mostly hype with a couple really exciting moments along the way, depending on your point of view.
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