During a recent interview, Carmelo Anthony’s trainer, Chris Brickley, said that his client was “100 percent” NBA ready and believes he’s better than 70 percent of players in the league right now.
NBA executives, however, do not agree, telling Shams Charania that Anthony’s NBA future is in “serious doubt.” In addition, Anthony will not play for Team USA this summer at the FIBA World Cup despite numerous stars dropping out of the team. Via The Athletic:
Anthony’s inner circle had conversations with USA Basketball officials about the possibility of him returning to the program to play this summer, sources told The Athletic. There was a sense Anthony, 35, could benefit from Team USA, and vice versa. Both sides ultimately decided not to go in the direction of Anthony suiting up once more for the U.S., sources said, with Team USA thanking him for his play over the years.
As for Anthony’s NBA future, he remains without a contract after playing just 10 games for the Houston Rockets last season. There’s no question that he would like to continue playing, and other stars, such as Damian Lillard, have come to his support on that matter. At this point, however, it’s getting harder and harder to envision a scenario where Anthony makes sense.
According to Charania, the Lakers previously discussed the idea of signing Anthony, but are unlikely to do so now. Likewise, the Knicks would have had interest in Anthony if they were able to secure two high-profile stars this summer in free agency, but that obviously didn’t happen.
The Lakers discussed the signing of Anthony last season and now have one roster spot open, but appear to be an unlikely option.
Meanwhile, if the Knicks had acquired two major free agents, such as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, this summer, the franchise planned to consider bringing back Anthony on a contract, league sources said.
Looking elsewhere, Charania reported that teams in China would be interested, and so would the BIG3, but at this point none of those moves seem imminent. If all else fails, league executives reportedly believe that there’s a chance Anthony will simply sign a one-day contract with the Knicks and retire.
It’s always tough to see a star player’s career come to an end, especially in this manner. Still, even if it’s a somewhat depressing spectacle, it will be fascinating to see what happens with Anthony’s career over the next few months.
