Melo is back. After not playing in a sanctioned game for over a year, Carmelo Anthony is set to return to the hardwood with his fifth NBA franchise.
Per reports from ESPN’s Adrain Wojinowski, the Portland Trailblazers have signed the 16-year veteran to a non-guaranteed deal.
The Blazers interest in Melo is directly related to their lack of depth at the power forward position. Specifically, a source close to Woj said that the injury to Zach Collins was a deciding factor in the signing. Collins suffered a shoulder dislocation in just the third game of the season, requiring surgery on his labrum.
The last time Anthony saw action an NBA court was November 11th of last year with the Houston Rockets. That season he played just ten games before the Rockets disappointing 6-7 start prompted a trade and eventual buyout by the Chicago Bulls. In those 10 games he averaged a career low 13.4 points per game.
Before Houston, Melo was waived by the Atlanta Hawks (without ever playing for them) after a lackluster season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He then signed a one-year deal with the Rockets, with the intentions of teaming up with superstar James Harden.
In an interview with First Take, Anthony told Stephen A. Smith that despite rumors, he never considered a farewell tour. “I’m in the gym every single day. Nobody can tell you that I don’t work, I don’t train,” Anthony said. “I never even thought about a farewell tour. Now, I feel like I still can play.”
In the interview Anthony also addressed his reduced role with Houston in 2018, “I think its about me as a person willing to accept certain roles on basketball teams. Yes, I’d gotten to a point in Houston where I had to accept that role, and I was just getting into accepting that role.”
ESPN’s Bobby Marks says the deal will allegedly pay the ten-time all-star $14,490 everyday he is on the roster. Portland currently sits at 13th in the western conference with a 4-8 record. They will face the Houston Rockets on Monday.
