Video: Carmelo Anthony Says He Has Reached Out to Lakers

By Jonathan Sherman
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Updated: August 2, 2019

Wendell Cruz / USA TODAY Sports

Former All-Star Carmelo Anthony is currently without a team.

On Friday, he joined ESPN’s “First Take” to talk about his pursuit of signing with an NBA squad, mentioning that he has in fact reached out the Los Angeles Lakers among other teams.

Would Carmelo Anthony play with LeBron James and the Lakers?

"1,000%…we talked about that since we were 18,19 years old"

Melo says he and his reps have reached out to the Lakers and Clippers among other teams pic.twitter.com/mDOEblZdZt

— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) August 2, 2019

Anthony spoke with Stephen A. Smith about his current status as a free agent, to which Smith began grilling the 10-time All-Star about which teams he has reached out to:

“Have the Lakers been one of them?”

Anthony didn’t sparse his words in his response:

“The Lakers has been one of them.”

It is unclear if the Lakers are interested in Anthony despite the fact that one of his close friends is Lakers star LeBron James. While Anthony could likely serve as a solid rotational piece, it is unclear whether or not he would be willing to accept a reduced role.

As a former franchise centerpiece, it has proven hard for Anthony to make the transition to bench player in recent seasons.

While he only played 10 games for the Houston Rockets last season, Anthony did average 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in those games. Still, the primary concern around his style of play is his lack of efficiency, as well as the fact that in those 10 games he averaged a measly 0.5 assists per outing.

Still, there is little doubt that Anthony is a tantalizing free agent prospect

Ultimately, it is up to the Lakers front office to decide whether or not he could be a valuable piece for a Lakers team that has championship aspirations.