Back when the New York Knicks were looking to trade Carmelo Anthony, a popular potential location was the Portland Trail Blazers, in part because both Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum tried to recruit him to the Pacific Northwest. That did not come to fruition back in 2017, but fast forward to today and it appears that’s going to change.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Anthony, who has not played since he and the Houston Rockets parted ways after 10 games last season, will join the Trail Blazers on a non-guaranteed deal.
Portland is signing Carmelo Anthony, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2019
Deal is non-guaranteed, per source. https://t.co/9o6mmiXSNN
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2019
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports brings word that Lillard was informed of the team’s decision last night.
Damian Lillard was notified on the potential of adding Carmelo Anthony last night and he made it clear that he’s always been supportive of bringing in the future Hall-of-Famer, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Portland searching for a boost to what has been a slow start.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 15, 2019
The news is shocking, as Anthony’s attempts to find a new team appeared to be all for naught. Current and former players had Anthony’s back as he tried to make his case to land somewhere, but nothing materialized. Of course, that was before the Blazers started watching as the forward depth chart became rapidly depleted due to personnel moves the team made this past offseason and injuries.
Anthony is not the player he was at his peak, back when he was among the most dynamic scorers to ever play the game. His role in Portland will assuredly be the source of much intrigue, although he has said he’s willing to come off the bench, something that hasn’t always been the case in his life post-New York. He certainly fills a need for Portland, and now, it all comes down to whether he’ll be able to give the Blazers something positive and have one heck of a comeback story.