Carmelo Anthony is coming into what could be his last shot in the NBA, a chance with the Portland Trail Blazers that got started with his debut in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. Melo was quick to buy into their plan, happy that general manager Neil Olshey was transparent about his role and fit with the team before both parties put pen to paper. It didn't take long before Anthony vowed to do whatever is needed of him to win.

“They had a vision, and they had a plan, and I was part of that plan,” Anthony told Jason Quick of The Athletic. “And when it came down to it, I wanted to be a part of that plan. Both parties said this is what we want to do; let’s make it happen.”

Olshey was upfront about what would be asked of Melo:

“Carmelo needs an empowering and welcoming environment with a defined role that embraces his skill set on the floor and his presence in the locker room,” Olshey said. “And we need a player that can generate production from the power forward position, can alleviate defensive pressure on Dame and CJ and be trusted to make plays at critical moments in close games.”

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Anthony had a private workout with the Blazers, at which point he was informed that starting on Tuesday would be a possibility.

“Let’s be transparent,” said Anthony. “That was a miscommunication over the past couple seasons about what my role would be and what was expected from me. That was a big point in talking to those guys — ‘Let’s be transparent. There’s nothing I won’t be willing to do, but just let me know up front; whatever it is, just let me know. Put it all on the table and we will go from there.’”

Melo has a great chance to stick in the starting lineup if he can provide some consistent offense and rebounding. The minutes will no longer be in the mid-30s as he's been used to during his career, but there is no immediate threat that could pry away that power forward spot so long as he contributes.