Carmelo Anthony slams journalists for purposely starting debates surrounding Lakers’ aging roster

By Jason Simpson
Updated: September 15, 2021

Los Angeles Lakers newcomer Carmelo Anthony recently took a jab at journalists for pushing the narrative that the team has too many aging players on its roster.

“To be honest, I think it’ll be too easy for you guys to be like, ‘Yeah, they’re going to be like this,'” Anthony told Adam Caparell of Complex when asked about the matter. “It’s too easy. You guys are baiting people to start a debate. It’s all about debate. We get it. We understand it. This is what you guys have to do. We understand that and we laugh at it and take it with a grain of salt and move on because everybody on the outside have their opinions about it and we’re the ones who know who we are. We know what we have to do. We know how we going to do it. Those are the things we have to deal with. So it’s easy for the outsiders or naysayers to give their overall perspective and it’s very opinionated. And ya’ll should do that. [Laughs] You should do that because it bring more viewers and bring more eyeballs and bring more conversation and more anticipation. If and when it does happen, winning a championship, that’s the fun part.”

It certainly seems like Anthony doesn’t believe age is going to be an issue for the Lakers in the upcoming season. A lot of folks disagree, but only time will provide a real answer.

Age hasn’t gotten in Anthony’s way of being a productive player in recent years. The 37-year-old is coming off of an impressive 2020-21 season in which he averaged 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

The veteran also knocked down 42.1 percent of his shots from the field and 40.9 percent of his shots from deep last season. He should provide L.A. with some instant offense off the bench, especially with his ability to hit 3-pointers.

The Lakers are looking to win their second NBA title in a span of three seasons, and if they do it, they’ll have successfully proved the naysayers wrong.