Nets' Sean Marks Won't Rule out Carmelo Anthony Contract Amid Free-Agency Rumors

Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks did not rule out the possibility of signing Carmelo Anthony while addressing the media Tuesday:

"I will say we will do our due diligence on everybody. We've looked at multiple players—we've brought in several players—whether it was throughout the summer for pickup and they've come in on their own accord. It's documented that guys were playing together in L.A. [with Anthony], so for us, I think we'll use our Exhibit 10s, we'll use training camp in which to try and figure it out, whether it's two-way spots and so forth. We'll use that to figure out where we go."

Brooklyn can add a 16th player once Wilson Chandler serves the first five games of his 25-game performance-enhancing drug suspension.

Melo also took part in informal team workouts and scrimmages Kyrie Irving organized in August. Per SNY's Ian Begley, Nets players were impressed and in favor of the organization signing him.

Despite that, Shams Charania of The Athletic deemed it unlikely Monday the Nets would sign Anthony.

The 35-year-old has not appeared in an NBA game since Nov. 8, 2018. After that, the Houston Rockets deactivated the 10-time All-Star and eventually traded him to the Chicago Bulls, who waived him.

A source told Charania that Anthony was the scapegoat for Houston's issues early in the season: "A lot of the blame was put on Carmelo, but he really should have thrived with the offense and system if the season started properly health-wise. Melo was the scapegoat."

Vintage Melo Came to Play

Anthony came off the bench for the first time in his career last season, and the results weren't great. In 10 outings, he averaged a career-low 13.4 points per game. That came on the heels of one season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he averaged a then-career-low 16.2 points per game.

Prior to his one season in OKC, Melo had averaged at least 20 points per game in each of his previous 14 NBA campaigns. For his career, he boasts averages of 24.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three.

Melo has defensive deficiencies and hasn't enjoyed much playoff success, but he was viewed as a leader during his time on the United States Olympic team.

Since Kevin Durant is out indefinitely with a torn Achilles and the Nets have a young roster of players who could benefit from a mentor, such as Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen, signing Melo and giving him a limited role as an offensive spark plug off the bench could make sense.