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Just when most folks counted him out already, Carmelo Anthony came surging back from the dead, as he played a key role for the Portland Trail Blazers this season. Recently, The 10-time All-Star opened up about what made him decide to sign with the team back in November of last year.
Speaking to JJ Redick on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, the Blazers vet shared the conversation he had with Portland prior to joining, as well as the one word that convinced him that this was where he was supposed to be:
“Was it a second chance? Yes it was a second chance,” Melo said of his Blazers stint, via Isaiah De los Santos of Blazers Edge. “But for me, it was more like, ‘They’re taking a chance on me, and I have to be there for them.’ They called me [and said], ‘We want you.’ And I was like, ‘You want me or you need me?’ … Because they told me that they needed me, that made me [think], ‘This is where I need to be.’ If they need you, they want you. But if they want you, they don’t need you. It’s a big difference. So I’m like, ‘This is it. Terry [Stotts], what’s my role?’”
Anthony's fall from grace was well documented, and at one point, there was more than some doubt if he still had what it takes to make a comeback in the NBA. What he did for the Blazers this season quashed any and all doubt, as Melo proved that he still belongs.
The 36-year-old will be a free agent in the offseason, and while there has been some talk in Portland about a possible extension with Portland, nothing is official just yet.
We'll soon see if Melo's chapter as a Portland Trail Blazer could still have a few pages left.
