NBA Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Could Sign Veteran Minimum Deal With Golden State Warriors, ‘The Ringer’ Suggests
The past two years have been tough on Carmelo Anthony. When he demanded a trade from the New York Knicks, Anthony thought that teaming up with other NBA superstars would give him an easy path to winning his first NBA championship title. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as Anthony expected as he failed to make himself fit alongside Paul George and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City and Chris Paul and James Harden in Houston.
After his stint with the Rockets only lasting 10 games, Carmelo Anthony admitted in a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith of ESPN that he started questioning himself whether he still wanted to play in the NBA or not. Luckily, after stepping away from the game to reevaluate himself, Anthony revealed that his passion to play is back. As of now, Anthony is going to the gym “every single day” to make sure that he is in perfect shape if an NBA team gives him an opportunity to continue his NBA career.
Carmelo Anthony may no longer be in prime, but he could still be a reliable contributor to a team that needs to boost their bench scoring. According to D.J. Foster of The Ringer, one of the NBA teams who could take a chance on the 10-time NBA All-Star is the Golden State Warriors. Despite losing Kevin Durant in the 2019 NBA free agency, the Warriors still have enough firepower in their starting lineup, especially when Klay Thompson fully recovers from an injury.
However, the Warriors currently need some help off the bench as they only have two players in their second unit – Alec Burks and Willie Cauley-Stein – who have scored more than 1,000 career points. As Foster noted, the Warriors could address the problem in their second unit by signing Carmelo Anthony to a veteran minimum deal.
“If there’s anyone capable of covering two frontcourt assignments instead of one, it’s Draymond Green; and offensively, Anthony could theoretically absorb some of the isolation possessions that left with Kevin Durant. The Warriors would need to shift some pieces around to make Anthony’s veteran’s minimum salary fit under the hard cap, but the juice might be worth the squeeze, especially as the younger back half of the roster gets acclimated and Klay Thompson gets healthy.”
Damian Lillard wants to see Carmelo Anthony get a farewell season: "#StopPlayinMelo." https://t.co/aId5z7kjsW pic.twitter.com/ppnZHnp4sP
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) July 30, 2019
Some people may think that adding Carmelo Anthony would be a huge risk for the Warriors since he could ruin their chemistry. However, recently, Anthony’s trainer, Chris Brickley, assured that the veteran small forward won’t be demanding a huge role if a team gives him the opportunity to play. Anthony may not be able to fill the void left by Kevin Durant, but if he somewhat manages to bring “Olympic Melo” back, he could play a big part in helping the Warriors reclaim the title in the 2019-20 NBA season.
