Believe it or not, Carmelo Anthony is still looking to get signed, and, to his credit, remains in shape for his targeted last payday. Under the supervision of trainer Chris Brickley, he is in the midst of his annual offseason pilgrimage at the Life Time Athletic at Sky, a members-only gymnasium in Manhattan. So far in his second home, he has worked out with the likes of Chris Paul, Julius Randle, Donovan Mitchell, and Trae Young. And, judging from the feedback given by those who have taken to the court with him or seen him in action, he’s ready, willing, and able to justify taking any one of the roster spots still available in the league.
There’s just one problem, however. As much as Anthony wants to go through a protracted valedictory much like his Banana Boat colleague and fellow future Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade did in the 2018-19 campaign, there are no takers for his services. In fact, there haven’t been any suitors since the Rockets unceremoniously dumped him after just 10 games last year. He was, in all likelihood, sharper — and definitely younger — then, and yet no one called to tap him. In many ways, his plight resembles that of Allen Iverson, who all but disappeared from the limelight despite his desire to play after putting up solid numbers through 2010.
Needless to say, those in Anthony’s camp continue to express optimism he will land somewhere. Last week, Brickley told DJ Envy and Angela Yee of Power 105’s The Breakfast Club that he’s “easily better than 60 percent, 70 percent of the NBA players walking around.” Which may well be true. All the same, it has been hard for him to shake off the stigma of his uneven single-season stint with the Thunder and disastrous cameo with the Rockets. Never mind the significant downgrading of his preferences: he used to want to be part of the First Five, and then just starter’s minutes, and then just endgame minutes, and then just minutes. These days, he just out for a spot on the roster.
Not that Anthony hasn’t had any options. Rumor had him coming close to a return to the Knicks had they been able to latch on to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Parenthetically, he considered plying his trade for Team USA at the FIBA Basketball World Cup late this month, but officials evidently believed his Olympic Melo days were behind him. Were he to turn outward, he would find his prospects increasing dramatically; Europe and China, for instance, are worth considering. Based on the pronouncements of those around him, though, he would prefer to stay stateside. Which is why he’s playing the waiting game. Again. And why pundits figure he’s hoping for the best but already accepting of the worst.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
