“Carmelo Anthony could join Russell Westbrook on the Lakers”: LeBron James and co and Blazers star have mutual interest with one another

Carmelo Anthony could team up with LeBron James and Russell Westbrook on the Lakers this offseason as they have mutual interest. 

NBA fans were expecting at least one blockbuster trade to occur on draft night and it did. Russell Westbrook did something no MVP in league history has done: get traded three years in a row. Less than a day after Bradley Beal committed to the Wizards, Russ requested a trade to the Lakers. Carmelo Anthony could follow suit. 

Rumors of Carmelo Anthony joining the Los Angeles Lakers have been rampant for quite some time now. The relationship between LeBron James and Melo is one that always pops up when discussing this move in particular as James once said he would love to play with the ‘Banana Boat’ crew at some point in his career.

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With Westbrook in Los Angeles, it effectively puts an end to the ‘Chris Paul to LA’ rumors. So, if LeBron James were to look to play with another member of the ‘Banana Boat’ nit named Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony is the only option remaining. 

Lakers not ruling out a Carmelo Anthony acquisition. 

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report says, “If DeMar DeRozan wants to come to LA for cheap, the Lakers wouldn’t have much to offer but would welcome him despite his poor outside shot. DeRozan may be a longshot, but don’t count out Carmelo Anthony as a bench scorer.”

Lakers insider wouldn’t count out Carmelo Anthony as bench scorer for Lakers: https://t.co/YvMSCohurO

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) July 30, 2021

Also read: “Many within the Lakers were fully against having Russell Westbrook in LA”: NBA Insider reveals some shocking details on how the front office views LeBron James’ pairing with Russ

With guys like Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope no longer on the Lakers roster, the purple and gold need some desperate shooting from the outside. Saying the spacing on the Lakers is horrible due to the Westbrook acquisition is a take that’s been reiterated many times over. 

To help solve this, bringing in a floor spacer in Carmelo Anthony may not be a bad idea. He would most certainly be cheaper than DeMar and is also a better shooter from the outside than the Spurs star as well. Evan Massey also reported that the Lakers and Melo have a mutual interest with one another.