Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony is “not with the team” ahead of their game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, per Casey Holdahl of NBA.com:

Though Anthony's status for the Blazers' game against the Lakers is unknown, it might not be a surprise if he does not play.

Carmelo was good friends with Kobe Bryant, who tragically died as the result of a helicopter crash on Sunday morning in Calabasas. Anthony sent out a heartfelt post on Instagram in the wake of Bryant's passing:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B74kHyPA3qu/

Prior to that, Anthony–who did play in the Blazers' game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday–said the relationship he had Kobe went far beyond basketball (via Scott Gleeson of USA TODAY):

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“Our friendship and relationship was deeper than basketball,” Anthony said. “It was family. It was friendship. Basketball was the last piece of connective tissue between us two.”

Anthony said he heard of Bryant's death from a helicopter accident via his wife LaLa who called him crying. He had arrived in Portland with his 12-year-old son on Sunday morning.

The loss hit him hard at the onset.

“At that point, everything went numb, dark,” Anthony said. “Basketball for me was the furthest thing on my mind.”

The Blazers star is just one of many players close to Bryant who are currently still trying to process their grief.

LeBron James was in tears as he departed the plane after the Lakers flew from Philadelphia back to L.A. on Sunday. Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving did not play during Sunday's game against the New York Knicks, and he was still grappling with the loss of his friend after Wednesday night's win over the Detroit Pistons.

More to come on Melo's status for the Blazers' game against the Lakers.