On Monday, the Houston Rockets traded Carmelo Anthony to the Chicago Bulls, ending Anthony's less-than-glorious stint in H-Town. Not like Melo was actually playing, anyway. He only appeared in 10 games before the Rockets decided to bench him for good in November.
The Bulls likely plan to release Anthony, freeing him up to sign with the team of his choosing (or the team that actually wants him). One such team could be the Los Angeles Lakers.
Since the summer, speculation has swirled about Anthony heading to Los Angeles to team up with LeBron James. Even before Anthony ended up landing in Houston, there was an assumption that at some point, he would end up in Tinseltown playing with his good friend.
The question is, would he actually be a good fit on the Lakers?
“Fit” has probably become Anthony's least favorite word in the English language. He no longer “fit” with the New York Knicks. He didn't “fit” with the Thunder. He didn't “fit” with the Rockets.
Is there anywhere that Carmelo will fit these days?
The unfortunate fact of the matter is that the game has passed Anthony by.
There was a time when Melo was one of the top scorers in the game, possessing the ability to work inside and out, posting guys up, scoring around the rim, nailing three-pointers and having a deadly one-dribble jumper out of the triple threat pose.
But now, with the game moving toward ball movement, perimeter shooting and defensive versatility, Anthony is a man without a country.
Primarily an isolation scorer, Anthony's ball-stopping ways are not conducive to modern offenses, and while he could certainly hit the three-ball, he has never been good enough from beyond the arc (lifetime 34.7 percent three-point shooter) to be a reliable spot-up shooter. The less said about his defense, the better.
It doesn't help matters that Anthony is 34 years old and has an injury history, so it's not even like he can consistently take guys off the dribble anymore.
So, basically, the circumstances need to be absolute perfect for Melo to be a valuable member of a team.
Can the Lakers provide that for him, and can he provide that for the Lakers?
Well, let's start with the fact that Los Angeles does, in fact, need offense.
Right now, the Lakers rank 21st in the league in offensive efficiency, not a very becoming number for a team that hopes to challenge the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.
Now, to be fair, Los Angeles has dipped a bit since LeBron went down with a groin injury on Christmas, but even up until James' injury, the Lakers ranked just 16th in the league in offense.
So, Los Angeles does need scoring, but is Anthony the type of scorer that the Lakers need?
The Lakers' most glaring weakness offensively is perimeter shooting. as they rank next-to-last in the league in three-point percentage. As a matter of fact, Lance Stephenson, who is definitely not known as a shooter, has been LA's most efficient three-point threat this year at 35.7 percent. Rajon Rondo, who is no Steehen Curry himself, is second at 35.7 percent. Then you have James, at 35.6 percent.
The rest of the team just flat out stinks from long range.
Sorry, but Anthony would not solve that problem.
Los Angeles already has guys who can score the basketball in other ways. James, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram can all get buckets in a variety of ways other than shooting the long ball, and even Michael Beasley can provide the Lakers with a microwave option off the bench once in a while.
Now, if Anthony were able to hit the three-ball at a 40 percent clip or near that, I would say absolutely; sign him up, but again, he is a career 34.7 percent long range shooter, which would not be of any help to a Lakers team that desperately needs perimeter shooting.
It's also not like Anthony can facilitate any offense to get others involved, because that has never been his game.
Offensively, Anthony is just an awkward fit with Kuzma, and he is actually an even more awkward fit alongside of James.
Now, on the defensive side of the ball, the Lakers have been surprisingly good this year, ranking eighth in defensive efficiency, and that's without Rondo for a decent chunk of the season.
So, on that end of the floor, Los Angeles could probably absorb Carmelo, as it's not like the Lakers are a bad defensive team.
But, again, Anthony needs to go some place where he can provide something of value, and it just doesn't seem like he can do that for Los Angeles.
The Lakers might still sign him, as he and LeBron are buddies and all, and Anthony and James have wanted to play together for a while now, but it just seems like a potential disaster.
Los Angeles has plenty of needs.
Carmelo Anthony is not one of them.
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