Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Carmelo Anthony is one of the biggest names still available on the free agency market and it is a bit of a surprise that he is yet to be picked up by any team out there. Carmelo is no longer the star that he once was, but he has shown that he isn’t washed just yet.
This past season with the Lakers saw Melo average 13.3 points to go with 4.2 rebounds per game off the bench and you would have assumed there would be a few teams who would consider having him on board. Even if some are considering the move, nothing has happened yet and it is certainly a situation to keep an eye on. Unfortunately for Melo, one landing spot which was talked about an awful lot recently doesn’t seem to be interested in his services.
The Boston Celtics Don’t Have Any Interest In Signing Carmelo Anthony
Once Danilo Gallinari went down with an injury while playing for Italy, rumors started to swirl that the Celtics are interested in signing Melo as his replacement. Those rumors were dismissed by Brian Robb of MassLive, who was responding to a question of why the Celtics hadn’t signed Anthony yet.
via MassLive:
“The Carmelo Anthony buzz was a hot topic this week after the rumors started swirling about the Celtics’ interest in him last week. However, multiple league sources tell MassLive that the Celtics are not expected to have interest in bringing in the veteran for a signing. ahead of training camp. That’s not to say the team is done shaping the roster ahead of the preseason but Anthony isn’t a priority at this point at names that could be brought in. Boston likes a lot of their internal replacement options from what I ‘ve heard and want to give those names the first crack at minutes.”
“Anthony did a respectable job turning into more of a role player during the last two seasons in LA and Portland but there’s a reason the Lakers (and everyone else) haven’t brought in at this point. He’s 38 years old and his teams have been at the bottom of the league in defensive rating for the last three years with him playing big minutes. I could see the Celtics making that call later in the year if they need some scoring punch off the bench but the logical first step seems to be giving the young guys more of an opportunity. That includes Sam Hauser as well as a number of big men in the running for roster spots.”
Those issues on defense are why he isn’t highly sought-after but his teams ranking at the bottom of the league in defensive rating wasn’t just down to Melo, so it is a bit unfair to make a claim like that.
Still, it seems Melo could be an option for the Celtics later in the year, but you have to believe that Anthony will be signed by someone before the season starts. Even at this advanced age, he is more than good enough to be on an NBA roster and could even prove to be a difference maker in the big moments if given an opportunity.
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