On Tuesday night, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James were in a high school gym — along with ESPN cameras — to watch their sons face each other in a high school game.
However, a potential Anthony return to the NBA could not be ignored. When Anthony was interviewed on the network, Malika Andrews asked Anthony about a return and possibly playing in a 20th NBA season.
Carmelo Anthony spoke on whether he will play in the NBA again 👀pic.twitter.com/mYTeC7yR5L
— Sporting News NBA (@sn_nba) December 13, 2022
“I love the game. I realize there’s a lot of things that’s not in my control. So I can sit back and let it play out, and whatever it’s going to be, it’s going to be and I accept that, I’m at peace with that... I get to watch my kids, get to watch my son play, train him, be around him, come to his games,” he said. “These are the things for a long time I didn’t have a chance to do, so now I can be that father and the man that I need to be.”
Spoken like a veteran, someone who already has a legacy and a Hall of Fame career. We do know the Knicks aren’t bringing him back. Anthony could still help a team in the right situation, he accepted a bench role with the Trail Blazers two seasons ago and averaged a solid 13.3 points and 4.2 rebounds a game last season for the Lakers. He’s not a defender, he’s not going to have a playoff role, and teams may be looking for a younger player with more of a long-term upside. But they could do much worse for depth at the four than Anthony.
There’s a lot of season left, we’ll see if his phone rings.