The Los Angeles Lakers rocked the basketball world after it was revealed that they had struck a deal with 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony as the latest addition to their star-studded squad. As it turns out, however, Melo also had other considerations before deciding to join LeBron James in Hollywood. One of them happened to be an emotional return to the New York Knicks.
Anthony recently made an appearance on the Posted Up with Chris Haynes podcast wherein the 10-time All-Star discussed his recent move to the Lakers. Melo revealed that he also considered a reunion with the Knicks prior to signing with LA:
“It was (hard) because I had just moved and bought a house in New York,” Anthony said, via Alder Amo of Empire Sports Media. “It was unexpected. My son starts school (today) in New York. So it was like, I’m here, I’m home. I never expected the Lakers to call.”
Melo is one of the greatest players in Knicks history having dawned the colors of the franchise for seven memorable years. New Yorkers would have probably welcomed Anthony back with open arms, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Anthony then opened up about his eventual move to Hollywood. The 37-year-old veteran shared how this turned out to be a much harder decision than most would assume:
“Having a great chance to win [was what made me decide to join the Lakers]. It took me some days to really like sit down and kind of break it down and really dig deep into making that decision,” Anthony said.
“To most people, it probably would have been an easy decision to make. But to me, it wasn’t. I really have to align a lot of things and put things in order for things to work out, for me to feel comfortable to be away from my family for another year and the kids not being there. People don’t understand that part. That’s the hardest part. The basketball (part) is easy.”
Melo is obviously a family man and he loves his children dearly. They are the reason why he plays basketball, and for them to be apart is tough for him. Nevertheless, he's in LA now and he's definitely going to make the most of his time with the Lakers.
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