Carmelo Anthony doesn’t have a place to play competitive basketball right now. The experiment of Anthony suiting up for the Houston Rockets wasn’t working, and on Thursday evening, it was announced that the team would move on from Anthony. While he’s still with the Rockets as the two sides work out some next steps, we’re not going to see Anthony play for Houston again.
No one has any idea where Anthony will end up, but J.J. Barea thinks he knows a good landing spot. No, it’s not the Dallas Mavericks, it’s the Puerto Rican national team — Anthony is of Puerto Rican descent, and despite retiring from international play following USA Basketball’s gold medal-winning performance at the 2016 Olympics, Barea would like to see him suit up for Puerto Rico.
“With his connection to Puerto Rico, his NBA stardom and his experiences, our fans would love it,” Barea told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. “We tried a bunch to get him in the past, but of course nobody blamed him for playing for Team USA. But if he ever wants a chance to represent us, it would be awesome to have him.”
Not only would it give Anthony a place to play ball, but as Yum Ramos, the president of Puerto Rico’s basketball federation, explained to Wojnarowski, this arrangement would be bigger than the sport.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, the Puerto Rico basketball federation's funding has been decimated. Anthony's retired from USA Basketball and could get a waiver to wear island's uniform. "He could lift the spirits of our country," federation president says. https://t.co/aq80vAXxfq
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 16, 2018
As for how this could happen, Anthony would basically need to get a waiver from USA Basketball that would let him suit up for Puerto Rico. His career with the national team is over, and though he’s perhaps the most decorated international basketball player in USA Basketball’s history, it would be really cool if Anthony suited up for a different red, white, and blue sometime in the future.
(Via ESPN)
