The Los Angeles Lakers are not done adding big names to their roster following the acquisition of Russell Westbrook.
The Los Angeles Lakers made perhaps the biggest splash of the NBA offseason thus far by striking a deal with the Washington Wizards to acquire star point guard Russell Westbrook to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The thing is, they still have to fill out the numerous openings on their roster. It appears they have another recognizable name in mind.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Schultz, the Lakers are “very interested” in signing veteran forward Carmelo Anthony this offseason.
Lakers ‘very interested’ in signing Carmelo Anthony
Anthony has been linked to the Lake Show ever since James signed with the team back in the summer of 2018, as the two are friends.
The veteran spent the past two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, first signing back on a one-year, $2.2 million contract. After a season where the Trail Blazers were eliminated by LeBron’s Lakers in the first round of the playoffs in the Orlando bubble, Anthony signed another one-year deal worth $2.6 million.
Through 69 regular-season games, Anthony averaged 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists a night, shooting 42.1 percent from the field and a career-best 40.9 percent from 3-point range.
The Lakers planned on repeating as NBA champions this past season after an active offseason, but multiple injuries sent them off course. Despite defeating the Golden State Warriors in the play-in round, the team was eliminated in six games by the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
After the Westbrook trade, the Lakers have shown that they fully plan on going all-in next season to make another run to the NBA Finals. Now, the question remains if Anthony will be a part of that quest to help win his first NBA title.