Carmelo Anthony says his representatives have reached out to the Lakers and Clippers, and that he and LeBron James have talked about playing together since they were teenagers

With Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker all signed to new teams, the summer of Carmelo Anthony is in full swing, and it seems as though the Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams that have had conversations with the 35-year-old forward.

During a sit-down with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s “First Take” early Friday morning, Anthony said that he’s reached out to both the Lakers and Clippers about playing in Los Angeles next season:

Smith: Have your representatives reached out to the Los Angeles Lakers?

Anthony: We’ve reached out to a lot of people.

Smith: Have the Lakers been one of them?

Anthony: The Lakers have been one of them.

Smith: Have the Clippers been one of them?

Anthony: The Clippers have been one of them... We’re reaching out, we’re talking, there’s dialogue with certain teams. I don’t want to get into specifics, but there’s conversations. But I think for me now, it’s just a matter of me letting people know where I’m at. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and this is where I’m at: I want to play basketball.

While it’s unclear how far those conversations got, Anthony believes there’s at least one person with the Lakers that would have interest in playing with him — LeBron James:

James has expressed a desire to play with Anthony in the past, but he’s also said he isn’t going to put pressure on the Lakers’ front office to sign him. Unless he does that, their dream might not ever come true.

According to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic earlier this week, the Lakers had interest in bringing on the 10-time All-Star previously, but are “unlikely” to do so now with the depth they have at the forward positions.

If it’s apparent early on in the regular season that the Lakers don’t have enough scoring on the roster, perhaps James will feel motivated to put in a good word for Anthony. Until that happens, expect the Lakers to hold onto that last roster spot for more of a sure thing.

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