Report: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant 'pushing' Nets to sign Carmelo Anthony
For a guy who can’t find an NBA job or even get a look from a depleted Team USA, Carmelo Anthony has his supporters.
The latest vote of confidence comes from the Brooklyn Nets, where Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are both reportedly lobbying management to sign the 16-year NBA veteran.
Frank Isola of The Athletic reported Thursday that the Nets’ newly acquired stars are “pushing” for the team to sign Anthony.
Anthony hasn’t played since the Houston Rockets shipped him to the Chicago Bulls early last season in a deal that saw the Bulls immediately release him. Anthony played just 10 games with the Rockets before the team removed him from the rotation in November and essentially fired him.
Anthony is known as a hard worker and a good teammate. But his reputation as a gunner past his prime unwilling to accept a secondary role off an NBA bench appears to have prevented him from finding work.
His former Denver Nuggets teammate Chauncey Billups summed up the situation as “scoring 30 meant too much to Melo.”
The New York Knicks reportedly targeted Anthony in free agency if they were able to land Irving and Durant. But when they whiffed this summer on landing premium free-agent talent, it apparently didn’t make sense to add Anthony to their roster.
The Lakers also reportedly showed interest in Anthony this summer, but ultimately passed.
But it appears that Anthony has hope with the Nets with some prominent voices in his corner.
With Durant expected to miss most if not all of next season recovering from the Achilles tear he suffered in the NBA Finals, the Nets could certainly use added scoring punch.
There’s a spot on Brooklyn’s bench to spell wing scorers like Joe Harris, Caris LeVert and Taurean Prince.
The question remains, as always: Would Anthony accept that role?
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