Carmelo Anthony’s move to Los Angeles was one of the biggest moves of the summer. After years of stardom in Denver and New York, and a short exile from the NBA, Anthony finds himself in a rather lucrative situation, with the opportunity to play alongside LeBron James in basketball’s most notorious franchise.
And while it will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Melo and the Lakers, the story of how he landed there in the first place is certainly an interesting one.
“I almost got forced to do it. … I think LeBron forced me to do it,” Anthony said. “He waited till the right time. He waited till we’re at the end of our careers and he said, ‘The time is now. If you don’t do it now, we ain’t gonna never do it.”
It seems like LeBron really pushed hard for Melo to link up with him in L.A., and it makes a lot of sense why. The timing is absolutely perfect.
“Early on, I don’t think it would’ve worked out between us because he was on his path, I was on my path. We had different lanes,” Anthony said. “I just think everything happens for a reason and timing is everything.”
Carmelo, 37, is well past the prime of his career — he isn’t the same player he was with the Knicks.
But, the 10x All-Star can still bring plenty of value to the Lakers. After averaging 13.4 points per game last season, he proved he can still be a consistent scorer off the bench.
This season, in L.A., the hope is that he will bring a similar kind of energy and spark for his new team, as they look to win their 18th NBA Championship.
Regardless, together, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony will certainly make things interesting.
