Damian Lillard: Carmelo Anthony 'Ain't Coming' to Blazers Despite Past Talks

Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has given up hope of Carmelo Anthony joining the team after being snubbed by the free-agent forward two years in a row.

Lillard explained on The Joe Budden Podcast (via the NBA on ESPN) the Blazers' failed pursuits of Anthony when he opted to join the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets in recent years.

"I tried, two years ago I tried to get 'Melo to come to Portland, and he went to Oklahoma City," he said. "Then after that, I tried to get him to come to Portland again, and he went to Houston. So at this point ... I'm like, 'he ain't coming here,' you know what I'm saying? He deserves to be in the league, but he ain't coming here."

Anthony, a 10-time All-Star and the 2012-13 NBA scoring champion, has remained a free agent since getting waived by the Chicago Bulls in February following a trade from the Rockets.

The 35-year-old New York City native told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith in early August his unceremonious exit from Houston forced him to consider his NBA future, but he came to the conclusion he's still good enough to make an impact if signed.

"I know I can still play," he said.

Anthony averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting just 40.5 percent from the field across 10 appearances (two starts) for the Rockets last season.

He'd be nothing more than a depth asset for a Blazers squad already featuring CJ McCollum, Kent Bazemore, Mario Hezonja and Rodney Hood on the wing.

While the Syracuse product was a force while operating as a team's go-to scorer, he's yet to prove he can be an efficient complementary weapon. That doesn't bode well for signing with Portland, where he'd be no better than fourth in the pecking order for offensive touches behind Lillard, McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic.