Carmelo Anthony Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Melo, Howard, NBA Owners

September 5th, 2019 at 9:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Carmelo Anthony is still searching for a team and one Western Conference executive tells David Aldridge of The Athletic that the Heat may be the best team for the small forward while cautioning that Melo’s game may need to adjust.

“Miami, if he is willing to work with [Pat Riley] hard on conditioning. He can replace D-Wade’s scoring,” the exec said. “Or, Portland. They play a lot of isolation basketball and they need another scorer. Carmelo is a dinosaur in today’s NBA. Everyone wants ball movement and three-point shooting; not ‘Melo’s forte.”

Aldridges spoke to numerous executives, scouts and coaches and there weren’t many optimistic responses. One Eastern Conference executive did say that if Anthony can accept a role off the bench and be a positive influence in the locker room, the 10-time All-Star could land a $5-7MM deal.

Here’s more from around the league:

Anthony isn’t the only veteran left on the market, as Zach Harper of The Athletic details in his look at which players are available. J.R. Smith, Ryan Anderson, and Kenneth Faried are among the notable players who remain free agents.
The Lakers made a mistake by signing Howard over Joakim Noah, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com contends on The Jump. Friedell believes adding Noah would have carried less risk, as the former Bulls center has shown he can accept a backup role.
The league is exploring a pathway that would allow would-be owners to buy a minority, passive stake in NBA franchises, as Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg relays. The structure and terms have not yet been finalized and the idea will be discussed at an owners’ meeting later this month.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, ‘Melo, Nuggets, Wolves, Jazz

September 4th, 2019 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Star point guard Damian Lillard attempted to recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Trail Blazers before the 10-time All-Star was traded to Oklahoma City in 2017 and then again before ‘Melo signed with Houston in 2018.

With Anthony once again on the lookout for a new team, Lillard has made peace with the fact that the veteran forward probably isn’t coming to Portland, as he said during an appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast (video link via ESPN). After Lillard detailed his previous recruiting efforts, he was asked if he’s “not putting [his] hand out again.”

“The team or me,” Lillard responded. “I’m like, ‘He ain’t coming here.’ He deserves to be in the league, but he ain’t coming here.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Free agent point guard Isaiah Taylor is working out for the Nuggets in Denver this week, league sources tell Harrison Wind of BSN Denver (Twitter link). After spending the 2017/18 season with Atlanta, Taylor was pushing for a spot on Cleveland’s roster last fall when he suffered a stress fracture in his leg and was subsequently waived. Now healthy, Taylor has also worked out for the Suns and Celtics, according to Wind.
The Timberwolves announced this week in a press release that Sam Newman-Beck will assume head coaching duties for their G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves. Newman-Beck, who was an assistant for the Erie BayHawks last season, previously spent eight years (2010-18) in Minnesota as a coaching associate/video scouting director.
Bryan Bailey, who was previously on the Salt Lake City Stars’ staff in the G League, has been hired as an assistant by the Jazz, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jones adds (via Twitter) that Johnnie Bryant and Alex Jensen will continue to be Utah’s lead assistants, with Lamar Skeeter, Zach Guthrie, and Vince Legarza sharing the third assistant role and rotating on the bench.

Carmelo Anthony’s Camp Helping To Fight Negative Perception

September 3rd, 2019 at 10:01pm CST by ChrisCrouse

We’re eight weeks out from the start of the 2019/20 NBA season and Carmelo Anthony remains unsigned. There’s a perception that Anthony isn’t willing to simply be a role player, something that he’ll need to accept if he’s going to join a new team, but efforts are being made to change that perception.

Anthony has made sports talk show appearances this summer claiming that he is willing to play any role a team asks of him. According to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, his camp is now lobbying for him behind the scenes as well. Those close to Anthony are fighting the negative perception “aggressively,” Deveney writes. Carmelo’s camp is contending that he won’t be a distraction if he doesn’t get scoring opportunities or even minutes on some nights.

Anthony’s last few stops in the NBA have not had storybook endings. He was made a scapegoat for the underachieving Thunder during the 2017/18 season and his run with the Rockets during the 2018/19 season lasted just 10 games. Those came after an uninspiring end to his Knicks career.

Anthony has shown he can handle being a role player, though it’s only come in small sample sizes. On many occasions during his four Team USA stints, he thrived without a high usage role. Can he do that over an 82-game season? He’s claiming he can.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both of whom have played with ‘Melo during international contests, have reportedly lobbied for the Nets to sign him. GM Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson have kept an eye on Anthony and the duo was reportedly impressed by the future Hall-of-Famer’s game.

Any team that adds Anthony will see an increase in its media attention. Reporters are going to ask him about his role and whether he is enjoying his time on the team among other topics. Anthony’s camp is arguing that he’ll be a net positive in this area.

“He’s got a lot of friends in the league, he is liked by other players. He’s got friends in the media. He doesn’t get into trouble off the court, he never has. [His camp is] really disputing this whole idea that he’s a team cancer,” a source tells Deveney.

Not many players could match prime ‘Melo on offense. Now, he’s seemingly ready to embrace the idea that there’s more to the game – both on and off the court – than scoring. Whether it’s with Brooklyn or another team, it would be surprising if the 10-time All-Star doesn’t get another chance in the league.

Poll: Carmelo Anthony Vs. Joe Johnson

September 2nd, 2019 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

None of the players left on the NBA’s free agent list for the 2019 offseason are likely to be difference-makers for a contending team next season, but that doesn’t mean no free agents are capable of being solid rotation players.

Carmelo Anthony and Joe Johnson are two veteran forwards who might fit that bill, and there are plenty of similarities between the two former All-Stars. Neither player will bring a ton to the table on defense, but they’re versatile scorers who have the ability to create instant offense off the bench. Anthony ranks 22nd on the league’s all-time scoring list, while Johnson is also among the top 50 (No. 46). And both players are interested in resuming their NBA careers after unsatisfactory stints in Houston.

Anthony hasn’t played professionally since falling out of the Rockets‘ rotation early in the 2018/19 season, but he has talked this summer about wanting “another shot” and being willing to accept a more modest role. The Nets are among the teams said to be keeping an eye on the 35-year-old.

As for Johnson, his experience with the Rockets came at the end of the 2017/18 season. He sat out last season before starring in the BIG3 this summer, winning MVP honors and excelling against former NBA players (he led the league in points and assists and was fourth in rebounds).

The Sixers, Clippers, Bucks, and Nuggets are said to have some interest in working out Johnson, who has said he’d like to play in the NBA again because the way things ended in Houston didn’t “sit well” with him.

For teams with interest in a scoring forward, both Anthony and Johnson could hold appeal, though it remains to be seen which player is more intriguing to NBA franchises. We want to know what you think.

Which player, Anthony or Johnson, will have a more successful 2019/20 season? The barometer of “success” is somewhat subjective — it could mean averaging double-digit points, contributing to a contending team, or even just making a 15-man roster.

Do you believe there’s a clear-cut choice between the two? Do they both deserve NBA roster spots? Or are you skeptical that either player can provide any value to a contender going forward?

Vote below in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Nets Notes: Carmelo, LeVert, Prince, LiAngelo

September 2nd, 2019 at 9:17am CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview with TMZ (video link), Carmelo Anthony offers little insight into a report last week that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are campaigning for the Nets to sign him. Anthony is close with the two stars and played with them, as well as new Brooklyn center DeAndre Jordan, on the 2016 Olympic team.

“That’s family,” Anthony said. “So, that’s bigger than basketball. If something happens, something’s gonna happen.”

A source told Frank Isola of The Athletic that Nets GM Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson have watched Anthony this summer and are considering adding him to the team. Brooklyn has a full roster, but will be able to sign a player once Wilson Chandler serves five games of his 25-game PED suspension. Anthony’s representatives have spoken to the Sixers as well, according to Isola.

There’s more this morning from Brooklyn:

Fresh off signing a three-year, $52.5MM extension, Caris LeVert tells Bill Bender of The Sporting News that his next goal is to become one of the NBA’s best players. He also believes the Nets are ready to join the league’s elite teams after their success in free agency. “When you get guys like KD, Kyrie and DeAndre, expectations rise,” he said. “We’re looking forward to that. We’ve been working for that. I think everybody loves playing on a big stage. We’re definitely looking forward to this year and the challenges it’s going to bring.”
Taurean Prince was a less celebrated addition for the Nets, but he could play an important role in making the team a contender, writes David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders. Brooklyn agreed to acquire Prince from the Hawks before the start of free agency, so he got to enjoy watching the team’s success in free agency. He called being traded “bittersweet,” but said he’s eager to be part of a rising power in Brooklyn. “I’m someone who wants to win more than they want to score,” Prince said. “My big thing is getting to the playoffs and being able to play in those type of opportunities and environment.”
LiAngelo Ball claims the Nets were one of three teams that talked to him about a possible Summer League role, relays Ralph Orense of ClutchPoints. On an episode of “Ball in the Family,” Ball says the Thunder and Heat also expressed interest.

Atlantic Notes: PEDs, Ennis, Knicks

August 30th, 2019 at 6:31pm CST by Austin Kent

The NBA has revealed that Nets forward Wilson Chandler will miss the first 25 games of the regular season after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug called Ipamorelin, as we detailed on Thursday.

In the wake of that suspension, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) took a deep dive into the league’s stance on PEDs and noted that Chandler becomes just the second player to serve such a suspension under the league’s latest set of governing rules.

When the NBA and NBPA debuted their new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the 2017/18 campaign, it came with stricter rules regarding steroids and PEDs. Only Jodie Meeks had been tagged with a suspension since the new document went live.

According to the CBA, the default punishment for a first offense is 25 games. Meeks split his 25 games between the 2018 postseason and the first 19 games of the 2018/19 regular season. Prior to the new CBA, players like Joakim Noah and Hedo Turkoglu faced varying punishments for PED use.

The Nets will now have several options for how they want to proceed. As of November 2, after the team plays its fifth game of Chandler’s suspension, they can move him to the Suspended List and free up a roster spot. Alternatively the club could waive a player altogether – they’ve got 15 guaranteed contracts – and look for a replacement… like *cough* Carmelo Anthony *clears throat*.

There’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

Although he’s a member of the Celtics now, forward Gordon Hayward is a product of Indiana and is on the short list of humans most capable of understanding the thought process behind Andrew Luck’s decision to retire from the NFL. “It sucks; you feel isolated,” Hayward, no stranger to extensive rehabilitation, told A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports. “It feels like a job because you’re not getting to do the fun parts of it. And you always have those [thoughts], ‘What if I’m not the same player?’ You have to bottle that and just focus on the present … I understand exactly where [Luck is] coming from.“
He signed a two-year, $4.1MM deal to remain with the Sixers, but James Ennis had other, more lucrative offers on the table in free agency. Ennis recently told Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he chose to stay with the team that acquired him mid-season last year because he’d like to remain in Philly long-term. Hoops Rumors’ own J.D. Shaw connected with Ennis in June and the veteran wing spoke highly of the support the 76ers give their players.
Do the Knicks have a plan? Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes that the organization has been relatively silent after an interesting – and at times puzzling – offseason.

Nets Continue To Monitor Carmelo Anthony

August 29th, 2019 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Although Carmelo Anthony is scrimmaging with the Knicks today, New York’s other team appears to be his more likely suitor. According to Frank Isola of The Athletic, the Nets remain interested in possibly signing Anthony and continue to “closely monitor” the veteran forward.

While general manager Sean Marks will have the final say on whether or not the Nets sign Anthony, a source tells Isola that newly-added stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are “pushing” the team to add the former scoring champion.

Isola also hears that Marks and Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson have both watched Anthony train or play this summer. One team source says that the 10-time All-Star “certainly helped his cause” with his recent workouts in Los Angeles and that “his body looked great.”

Still, there are roadblocks in the way of Anthony reaching a deal with the Nets. For one, the team already has 15 players with guaranteed salaries under contract. Unless Brooklyn is willing to trade or waive one of those players, Carmelo’s best path to a regular season roster spot might be joining the club on a non-guaranteed deal once Wilson Chandler is eligible to be placed on the suspended list.

Chandler has been suspended 25 games for a positive PED test and can be removed from the active list five games into his ban. That would give Anthony a 20-game window to make an impression on the team and potentially earn a longer look, but it’s not clear if he (or the Nets) would be open to that sort of arrangement.

Anthony’s camp remains optimistic that the 35-year-old will find an NBA job, according to Isola, who notes that Carmelo’s representatives have also spoken to the Sixers.

Carmelo Anthony Expected To Scrimmage With Knicks

August 29th, 2019 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

9:20am: A source tells Begley (Twitter link) not to read too much into Anthony’s presence at the Knicks’ scrimmage today, since the team already has 15 players on guaranteed contracts.

8:21am: Free agent forward Carmelo Anthony is expected to reconnect with his former team and participate in the Knicks‘ informal 5-on-5 scrimmages at Columbia University this morning, league sources tell Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link).

Those scrimmages are the same ones that former lottery pick Hasheem Thabeet is playing in, as we relayed on Wednesday. When Ian Begley of SNY.tv wrote about Thabeet’s participation, he suggested that the Knicks likely wouldn’t have invited the big man if they didn’t have at least some level of interest in him. It’s unclear if the same thinking applies to Anthony.

Although the Knicks discussed the possibility of signing Anthony earlier in the offseason, they reportedly only planned on pursuing him if they had landed two star free agents. When the club struck out on its top targets, its interest in a reunion with Carmelo apparently dwindled, but perhaps the door is still open a crack.

For now, it’s probably premature to draw any conclusions about Anthony’s participation in Knicks scrimmages. After all, he also worked out with Nets players earlier this month, and there’s no indication that Brooklyn has plans to sign him.

The 10-time All-Star declared several weeks ago that he hopes to get “another shot” from an NBA team.

Central Notes: Oladipo, Anthony, Young, Blatt

August 19th, 2019 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Victor Oladipo is sure the Pacers will make the playoffs due to the additions of Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren and Jeremy Lamb, among others, as he told J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star.

“I feel like we got some great additions. We got a chance to be really special. I feel like the league is wide open,” the Pacers’ guard said. “I was excited for the opportunity to play with (Brogdon). I know what type of player he is, the level that he plays on and has been playing on the last couple of years from Milwaukee. To have him as an addition is pretty big for us.”

Oladipo is working his way back from a quad injury and it’s uncertain whether he’ll be ready by the time the Pacers open training camp. “I’m not sure yet,” he told Mark Monteith of the team’s website.

We have more from the Central Division:

Adding free agent Carmelo Anthony to the mix never made any sense for the Pistons, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press explains in his latest mailbag. Anthony’s game is predicated on isolation plays and that doesn’t fit the Pistons’ system. He’s also spent most of his time at power forward in recent seasons and the Pistons already signed Markieff Morris, a better defender, to back up Blake Griffin. They also added another veteran forward, Michael Beasley, to compete for a roster spot, Ellis adds.
Thaddeus Young is a quality finisher and that will help boost the Bulls’ offense, according to Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago. Young shot 67.9% from inside three feet for the Pacers last season, while Chicago ranked 28th in the NBA in field goal percentage inside five feet, making just 58% of its attempts, Strotman notes. Young jumped teams on a three-year, $41MM pact early in the free agent season.
Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt is battling multiple sclerosis but plans to continue coaching, according to an Associated Press report. He’s currently the coach of the Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus. “I am a coach and my job is to lead and teach and inspire a lot of people,” Blatt wrote in the statement. “Not being as agile or active doesn’t affect my ability to do those things.”

Atlantic Notes: Walker, Carmelo, Rozier, Payton

August 14th, 2019 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The chemistry problems that plagued the Celtics last season don’t appear to be a concern now that Kemba Walker has replaced Kyrie Irving in the Boston backcourt, writes Sekou Smith of NBA.com. Walker is getting to know three of his new teammates — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart — while preparing for the FIBA World Cup, and it sounds like they’re off to a great start.

“They’re just some really good young dudes and I just enjoy being around them,” Walker said. “And the age difference is really crazy to me. J.T. is like 21 and J.B. is 22 and Marcus is 25. And I’m 29 and feeling like, wow, this is cool. It sounds crazy. I remember when I was 21 in this league. I was a rookie and just trying to figure it all out. And these guys are young vets already. Like I said, it’s crazy.”

Age difference was a recurring theme in Boston last season as Irving frequently criticized his younger teammates and talked to the press about how tough it is to be a leader. Walker has raved about the work ethic that Tatum, Brown and Smart are showing and how quickly they’ve adapted to the international game.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Carmelo Anthony‘s presence in summer workouts with Nets players doesn’t mean Brooklyn plans to sign him, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Nothing to it,” a source close to Anthony said. “There’s several guys (playing) that aren’t Nets, but friends and other NBA players.” Team officials and Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, refused to comment.
Terry Rozier, who signed with the Hornets last month, tells Lewis in a separate story that there are no hard feelings between him and Irving after their tumultuous time with the Celtics. “A lot of people don’t know how great of a person he is,” Rozier said. “A lot of people think I hate Kyrie. And a lot of people think that me and Kyrie not cool, but we text, and I text him right before free agency.”
Knicks GM Scott Perry had been pursuing Elfrid Payton for a long time before signing him in July, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Perry, who acquired Payton for the Magic in a draft-night trade in 2014, attempted to bring him to New York at the 2018 trade deadline. “I’m very aware of Scott’s interest,’’ said Payton’s father, Elfrid Payton Sr. “He’s showed confidence in him and always kept track of him when he left. He’s always someone who really believed in him. Somebody invested in you like that and knows you, that’s a big thing.”