Some players just hate to walk away from the game, regardless of how much they're declining. Carmelo Anthony is one of them. Melo came back and signed with the Portland Trail Blazers last season after playing only 10 games in 2018 with the Houston Rockets.

Anthony struggled to find work in 2018 and 2019 before Portland decided to take a flyer on him, and he proved to the rest of the league that he could still play at a decent level, although not the All-Star level and vintage Melo we all came to love.

He had a terrific year in his return to the NBA and played big minutes for Portland down the stretch, but the 2020-2021 NBA season hasn't been so kind to Carmelo Anthony, and some are left to wonder if the 19-year veteran is washed.

It's not an unreasonable argument, especially if you tune in and watch a Blazers game or two. His shooting percentage is a career-low 36 percent and his points per game are also a career-low at just 11.6 a game.

Not only that, but he's playing the lowest minutes of his career at just over 25 a game, and the Blazers have to be wondering if signing him back was a mistake. The regression of Anthony might be a bit surprising, but just a couple of years back it was unlikely that he would be back in the NBA, and after the bubble last year it was inevitable that some teams would throw Melo a contract.

Despite the declining numbers and his inability to play any type of defense, he can still score the ball and provides the Blazers with depth, which is something they lack big time at the moment.

Zach Collins, Jusuf Nurkic, and CJ McCollum are all out for an extended period of time, so any useful body the Blazers can have they need, so it seems unlikely that Melo is bought out or waived before the season's end.

Anthony's lack of ability to play defense is the bigger concern for this Portland team, especially if they want to compete in the Western Conference. He is averaging just under one steal per game and has a career-low 3.6 rebounds, so besides his offensive game, he isn't doing too much on the floor for Portland.

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Either way, Carmelo Anthony is going to play 15-25 minutes a game for this Blazers team fighting for a playoff spot, and unless they make a major trade he should be there until the season ends.

He only scored six points on Monday against the Bucks. In his past few games, he has scored six, four, and six while shooting a combined 6-30 from the field including 0-8 from beyond the arc, so his struggles recently have been evident on offense as well.

This is most likely Carmelo's final year in the NBA, and what a run it's been as he approaches the end of his career searching for an NBA championship, something he has yet to achieve.

Is Carmelo Anthony washed? A bit. However, he's still a handful to deal with on offense, and that alone should keep in in the league and playing meaningful minutes in the NBA for the remainder of the season.