The Portland Blazers backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have done a good job of recruiting New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, via colleague Ryen Russillo.
“They've been on him,” said Wojnarowski of the constant efforts by the northwest tandem to bring him to Portland.
The two guards reportedly reached out to Melo early in the summer and talked about potentially playing together. While the 34-year-old has denied any interest in joining the team, the two have kept in close touch with the former scoring champ throughout the month.
McCollum recently teamed up with Anthony in one of Chris Brickley's “M7 Blackout Sessions” in Academy Basketball, giving the opposition buckets in bunches.
Anthony has refused to drop his trade-clause for the Blazers and honed into the Houston Rockets as his sole desired destination, but despite re-engaging in talks on Thursday, Houston just simply does not have the pieces to interest Steve Mills and the Knicks — making this a frustrated effort from both sides.
Time will play a major factor for Portland, as the more they wait, the more frustrated a Knicks front office will be coming into the season, forcing Melo to re-assess his options.
McCollum and Anthony showed excellent chemistry in this pickup game, and while it's a far cry from a regular season game in the NBA — it's a lot more than any experience he has had with anyone in the Rockets' roster.
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