Carmelo Anthony is back in the NBA and has two games under his belt as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, including 18 points in Thursday night’s road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Anthony has been thrust into a starting role upon signing with Portland and he’s already being trusted as a major offensive weapon, taking shots for a Trail Blazers team mired in a 5-11 start. On the opposite end of the spectrum are his good friend LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers who sit atop the Western Conference at 12-2.
Could it all be so easy as to say Melo could be on the Lakers right now, enjoying life atop the NBA? No, not exactly. Because even though LeBron James approved of adding Melo to the Lakers, the choice not to sign him was ultimately made by the front office, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
LeBron’s blessing aside, it would have been tough to imagine Anthony in a role like the one the Lakers have carved out for Jared Dudley. Dudley isn’t guaranteed to play and will never have a play called for him. In addition to Dudley, the Lakers already have a lot of forwards to soak up possessions in Kyle Kuzma, Anthony Davis and of course, James.
While it would have been a fun story considering their connections to the 2003 draft to see them on the same team, it won’t be long before we see them on the court together again. The first meeting this season between Carmelo’s Trail Blazers and LeBron’s Lakers is only two weeks away on Dec. 6 in Portland.