LOS ANGELES – At least early on, Carmelo Anthony appears to have found a home with the Portland Trail Blazers. Anthony needed a team that would take a chance on him, while the Blazers were in desperate need of a power forward and alternative scoring options to Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. However, there was constant contact between Anthony and LeBron James about getting the 10-time All-Star to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
Following Anthony's signing with the Blazers, a report from Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated stated both the Brooklyn Nets and LA Clippers showed interest in the forward. So much so, that Anthony was reportedly led to believe a deal of some sort was on the way:
Still, the LA Clippers and Brooklyn Nets showed enough interest in Anthony to lead him to believe that an offer was coming this past summer, a source said, but neither possibility came to fruition.
Following the Blazers' 117-97 loss to the LA Clippers, Anthony was asked about other potential teams he could've joined and some of the talks he had with best friend LeBron James.
“There were a lot of teams that I thought I was going to be on,” revealed Anthony. “As far as LeBron goes, it's something we've talked about since we were in high school. It wasn't in his power. Some people might say it was in his power. But it's not something that I was calling him and talking to him about, asking him, ‘Can you do this for me?' I would never put him in that position because a lot of times it's deeper than that, and I started understanding the business of basketball.”
Anthony, who had been playing very well in the days leading up to Tuesday's game, received praise from Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George over the last few days.
“It's great,” George said after Sunday's win over the Wizards. “Melo's been a great player. He’s going to be a great player, he's playing terrific from start to finish.
“I'm happy for him, added Leonard. “I don’t think he was treated the right way, how they left him out there being a future Hall of Famer. As you can see, he’s still got a lot of basketball left.”
Anthony has come out to say he doesn't plan to retire at the end of the year, so the opportunities for him should open up if he continues to play at a high level. He is 35 years of age, however, and is surely looking to make the best of his current opportunity instead of looking ahead.
While Anthony struggled against the Clippers with just nine points on 2-of-9 shooting, he just won Western Conference Player of the Week.
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