East Playoff Team Advised to Steal Future Hall of Famer from Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers had an excellent roster this past season, but didn’t even make the play-in tournament. General Manager Rob Pelinka will make great changes in the offseason. Will he trade his veterans to another team? Ben Stinar from Sports Illustrated advised an East playoff contender to steal a talented player from the Lakers.

If Sweet Lou is hanging it up this summer .. the Atlanta Hawks should sign Carmelo Anthony to be their vet scorer off the bench

37.5% 3P on 5+ attempts per game with the Lakers.

Would fit great with Trae Young.

— Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) May 4, 2022

Carmelo Anthony inked a one-year deal with the Lakers and he is a free agent now. Melo got a well-earned chance with the team and LeBron James really wanted him on his squad. The veteran could be a good fit for any team as averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while going 44.1% from the field, 37.5% from beyond the arc, and 83.0% from the free-throw line.

The East playoff team may try to steal Melo from the Likes, but he likes his team

Sean Deveney of Heavy believes that Melo likes the Lakers and definitely likes playing with LeBron.

“There is a comfort level with living in L.A. and playing there,” one NBA source told Deveney about Anthony. “The starting point on him coming back and not retiring is signing on with the Lakers and hoping that they fix the roster and the coaching situation. But it’s wide-open.”

Melo talked about his future in the NBA and didn’t reveal much.

“This was another chapter for me,” Anthony said. “I can say I’ve experienced it. … I can finally check the box — played with Bron. Played with AD. We had, on paper — we were phenomenal on paper. Me, personally, I had a good year, personally. Just as far as happiness and being able to go out there and compete and being able to do my part, play my part on this team. There were good days, there were bad days, but we got through it, and I got through it.”

The Lakers veteran could really use a ring in his portfolio. However, he wouldn’t try too hard if the whole thing makes him unhappy or uncomfortable.

“I’m blessed,” Anthony said on April 11. “I’m still able to do this 19 years in and still able to enjoy it and still get motivated by it and love to go to work and love being around the guys. So a lot of times I’ll take that over a championship if I could because that’s my happiness. If I gotta be unhappy to try to go fight and win a championship, I don’t want that. I don’t want that unhappiness.

“So do I want a championship? Hell yeah. I don’t think that’s a question. I don’t even have to answer that, but I think at this point in my career, it’s about just being happy and being able to wake up and come to work every day with a good attitude. Being positive. Bring guys along with you. Teaching, talking, learning. Those are things that I actually look forward to now at this point in my career.”