Carmelo Anthony Rumors: NBA GM Expects Lakers Return, but Warriors 'Make Some Sense'
July 27, 2022
The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to re-sign Carmelo Anthony once their roster gets sorted out.
That said, they could face competition from the Bay Area.
One general manager told Sean Deveney of Heavy that an Anthony-Warriors partnership "make(s) some sense."
The GM said:
"It would be a nice story, if he could win a ring there to end his career. Golden State has the room for him. He can make shots and they can hide up his defense, which is one of the big problems with adding him. He’d take the minimum. They have a lot of young guys on that roster, they could do with another veteran and those guys all know Carmelo from Team USA. I do not know if they would really take that plunge on him, but it does make some sense."
Anthony averaged 13.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game on 44.1 percent shooting last season. While he's clearly well beyond his All-Star years, Anthony continued to serve as a solid spot-up shooter off the bench and was far down the list of issues during the Lakers' miserable 2021-22 season.
The Lakers have 13 players on their roster, so they have room to re-sign Anthony. However, the team continues to explore potential trades for Russell Westbrook and likely does not want to make any moves until that situation is settled. Some of the most popular trade offers being bandied about involve the Lakers taking on at least two players in exchange for the 2017 NBA MVP.
The Warriors have 11 players under guaranteed contracts for the 2022-23 season, though JaMychal Green's pact is expected to be announced soon. While most of those deals are for bona fide rotation players—first-round pick Patrick Baldwin Jr. is the only player who will likely not compete for significant playing time next season—Golden State could use some floor-spacing at the 3-4 spots.
A reunion with the New York Knicks has also been mentioned as Anthony seeks to write the last chapter of his career. It's more likely Anthony winds up back in New York if the Knicks are able to make a trade for Donovan Mitchell.