With Carmelo Anthony still unsigned nearly six weeks after the start of free agency, Anthony has received strong support from a rather surprising source this week: Kyle Kuzma.
Kuzma, who is entering his third season with the Lakers, a team that’s been linked to Anthony for several months, firmly believes that Anthony belongs on an NBA roster and is better than many players who currently hold roster spots.
“Melo is easily better than half the league right now,” Kuzma said, according to Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times. “There’s no question about it. He should be on a team right now. He’s still one of the best players. The slander people throw at him is something I don’t really understand. Maybe that’s just the way today’s society is right now.
“It would be great to see him in L.A., but I don’t make those decisions. That’s up to [Lakers GM] Rob [Pelinka] to make those decisions as far as what he thinks is best for the Lakers. He’s done a great job so far putting this team together.”
The Lakers expressed exploratory interest in Anthony last season, but ultimately decided against signing the 35-year-old to a contract. Anthony last played in an NBA game during November of 2018.
“I love the game too much to be away from it,” he said on ESPN’s First Take last week. “I just love the game. I train the young guys, I’m training myself, I’m in it. I got a new life to me.”
There’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:
- New Lakers guard Troy Daniels discussed his decision to sign with the team in an interview with Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. “I think we have the correct balance of veterans and young guys,” Daniels said of his team. “We have the guys who have been in the league a while and won championships, but we also have the young guys who are still developing like Kyle Kuzma, who is coming along really well and has tremendous upside. We have go-to stars in Anthony Davis and LeBron James. I think we have the right combination of guys on this team and I think we can go really far. Our goal is to win a championship, but first and foremost, we must make the playoffs. And once we make the playoffs, we’ll go from there. But this team could go really far and I’m really looking forward to working with all of these guys.”
- The Rockets renounced their draft rights to Marko Todorovic, making the 27-year-old center an unrestricted free agent, according to RealGM’s transactions page. Todorovic was the 45th overall pick in the 2013 draft.
- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski recently praised Wolves president Gersson Rosas, who accepted his new job with the organization back in May. “He’s a completely trustworthy guy,” Krzyzewski said of Rosas, according to Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune. “When you’re building a winning culture, one of the main things you need is trust,” Krzyzewski said recently. “You have to believe a person. You can believe him in an instant. If he says it, it is going to happen.” Rosas was the international player personnel scout on Team USA in 2016, with Krzyzewski serving as head coach at the time.
Kuzma is just right… so many bums in the league & then a guy like melo can’t find a team?!?!? #givemeloateam
It’s not the Big3 or a one-on-one tournement..
Melos ball stopping on offense has long been a problem , so has his lack of effort on defense.
If he wants to keep playing, he knows I’ve Cubes #
Oh, I get it. You’re a Melo fan. Sorry, I hurt your feelings.
Melo to the Lakers? NO!
Got to agree that Melo should be in the L already.
As much as he frustrated me at times with the Knicks, the guy was then, and is still a quality NBA player. For some reason everyone seems to think he’s this bad guy, but I challenge you to find another player that would have handled the Phil Jackson situation any better. It sounds like his teammates really like him, and it’s ridiculous that he was the scapegoat for the Rockets mess last year. It is obvious that the Rockets problems had everything to do with Harden and Paul disliking each other.
There are at least 5-6 teams that are both competitive and could use Melo. Hopefully one of them is smart enough to give him a chance.
I don’t think anyone thinks he’s a ‘bad guy’. It’s just the reality of what he is.
He’s never been a defender and he’s never been a passer. He’s always been a volume scorer and now he is no longer elite at doing that. Despite falling off, he’s still the guy that WANTS to get his 25 points and is going to force shots to make this happen.
I think he could fill a role as a second team guy who comes in and scores in volumes when the top guys are on the bench, but is he willing to accept that role? Maybe his prolonged stay in free agency has provided a wake-up call.
People acting like it makes no sense that he’s not really wanted right now aren’t paying attention though.
I am not defending him because I’m a Knicks fan. But a few things you said are not accurate.
a) 3 assists per for a career PF isn’t Jokic but it’s great for a big. Horfor for example averages 3.2 pg.
b) A volume shooter doesn’t shoot 45% for his career. Its been at 40% the last two years because his last two teams have misused him.
c) In his recent interview on ESPN with SAM he flat out said that he’s mentally prepared to come off the bench.
Not arguing with your opinion of him, but I always listen to narratives and then check if they are warranted or not. I think the major problem is just getting him to the point where he realizes he’s not best suited as an everyday player. For his career he’s always had a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio between his 2pt shots vs 3pt shots. With OKC and Houston it decreased to 1:1 or less. last year he averaged more 3pt attempts than 2s. I think either he was asked to be a catch and shoot guy or maybe he was being lazy? not sure. i think he can succeed with a coach who knows how to use him effectively off the bench with a guard that’s going to let him do his thing with time on the clock. he’s an effective shooter from the post and 15 ft out and streaky when it comes to 3s. he can get hot and light it up occasionally.
Yep.. Knicks, Thunder & Rockets we’re all wrong about him.
He’s great.
in his brief stint with the rockets to me his legs looked flat … long twos came up short often… I think it will take diet and conditioning if he hopes to play one more season.
If the Rockets can’t get a usable amount of production from a player then there simply isn’t enough there for any other team to bother with. They got productive minutes from Nene, Faried, and Shumpert last season yet all three of them remain unsigned. If those guys can’t make it onto an NBA roster then what chance does Melo have?
Need a new site called MELORUMORS
Kuzma’s not wrong but not the whole picture. GMs see what the “slanderous” fans see.
Melo should want to NOT start so he doesn’t get scapegoated like in Houston. He kind of auto-updated with teams looking for a good small-ball 4 threat, but he still needs to manually update his game.
Seems like he’s worth another shot in the NBA whether he “deserves it” or not but he might like his role in China more!
Theres 13 bums making 5M+ not stretched and on 1 year deals if you should cut and replace with Melo regardless of position. If anything you sell some more jerseys. Let me ask you this… from a marketing stand point. Biyombo vs Melo if the Hornets tabbed him? Or oft injured MKG? No reason to watch the Hornets this year. Melo on the Hornets, I’d watch a few game see what hes got left. Heck may actually ball out.
Yeah, the Hornets should eat Biyombos salary and sign Melo. That way they would still be in last place and spend more money.
I think he would be great in SA or Clippers. coming off the bench in both scenarios. he needs a coach that will put him in a good position to succeed. minimize his flaws defensively. have him play with the 2nd squad and have 3 or 4 scoring options for him. 15 to 20 minutes i think you can squeeze 12 to 15 per game. use him like the Pistons used Microwave Johnson.
Carmelo is just JR Smith with extra dribbles.
Melo is a much better scorer than JR. JR is a spot up shooter. Melo can shoot from around the court and can score in the post against smaller SF and quicker than most bigs. even with his age.