According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the curtain could be closing on Carmelo Anthony's NBA career.
"League executives believe Anthony’s NBA future is in serious doubt," Charania writes. "It has led to the question within the basketball community: Is this it for 'Melo in the NBA?"
Charania then goes on to paint a picture that makes it appear like the basketball gods aren't allowing the stars to align for 'Melo. In his report, Charania claims that "a pathway to a deal seems tough."
"Several of the league’s playoff-contending teams — such as Philadelphia, Denver, Golden State, Utah, Milwaukee, Boston, Brooklyn and Indiana — have proclaimed respect for Anthony’s career," Charania continues, adding that they "have not pursued signing him and have essentially full rosters now."
Despite the bleak forecast, there are still paths to Melo rejoining the NBA. One steady option would be to guilt-trip the New York Knicks into picking him up for a farewell tour. The other is to utilize his friendship with LeBron James to hopefully get a spot on the Los Angeles Lakers' roster. But with free agency all but over, the windows of opportunity seem all but closed
When New York lost Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn, Melo reportedly missed his opportunity to rejoin the Knicks. Per league sources, if New York would have scored two major free agents, then they would have added Melo to the roster.
As for the Lakers, things appear to be a little less grim. After Anthony Davis waived his $4 million trade kicker, the Lakers' front office worked some magic to so that they had close to $32 million in cap space. However, this money was sectioned off for Kawhi Leonard. As they waited for Kawhi to make his decision, valuable free agents fell off the board. And when Kawhi eventually chose the Clippers over the Lakers, the franchise was left to fill their roster with sufficient role players. While some of this money could theoretically go to Melo, it doesn't seem like the Lakers are interested in hosting a farewell tour. The organization has a disgruntled fanbase that they need to sooth by re-establishing their dominance. It's unclear how a 35-year-old Melo, who seems unwilling to become a role player, could assist a team with championship aspirations.
