The Portland Trailblazers have decided to roll the dice on former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Carmelo Anthony, according to ESPN senior writer Adrian Wojnarowski.
Anthony spent 2017-18 in Oklahoma City. The Thunder brought Anthony in from the Knicks, but the veteran, who has been accustomed to being the headliner throughout his NBA career, never fully meshed with Russell Westbrook and Paul George. During his stint in OKC, Anthony averaged a career-low 16.2 points.
He last played in the league in the 2018-19 NBA season for the Houston Rockets and has struggled to find a home for the final chapter of his now- 17-year career over the summer.
Carmelo Anthony agrees to deal with Blazers. Story on ESPN: https://t.co/7krZ9bgeyV
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2019
At the same time, cascading injuries and lofty postseason aspirations combined to push a struggling Portland Trail Blazers franchise to warm to the idea of bringing on Melo, who has been perceived in some circles as resistant to accepting a lesser role as he ages out of a starting one.
Now, standing at 4-8 midway through November, the team has decided that injuries to Jusuf Nurkic and particularly Zach Collins, have stretched the frontcourt rotation too thin, especially at the power forward position.
Anthony, per Wojnarowski, will be brought on to help out in that regard on a non-guaranteed deal and will join the team on their coming road trip. No word on other contract details, though presumably, it will be at the veteran’s minimum given the team’s cap situation.
