Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts says he expects Carmelo Anthony to remain in the starting lineup past his debut on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard won't play against the Pelicans due to back spasms. However, it appears Anthony will start alongside Lillard and CJ McCollum moving forward.

Anthony played in just 10 games with the Houston Rockets last season before the franchise exiled and traded him to the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls waived Anthony, who hadn’t received any interest from teams since entering the open market until the Blazers swooped in and picked up the 10-time All-Star.

Melo averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game with the Rockets while shooting 40.5 percent from the field, 32.8 percent from beyond the arc and 68.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Anthony will effectively cost the Blazers $51,000 per day. He will earn $14,490 per day while he’s on the roster in Portland. The contract becomes fully guaranteed if he is not waived by Jan. 7.

The Blazers were in need of scoring and help in the frontcourt, so this was a good roll of the dice by signing Anthony. The non-guaranteed contract makes it a low-risk proposition as well. We'll see if Melo makes it past the Jan. 7 guaranteed date.