At 35-years-old, Carmelo Anthony is having an amazing NBA comeback year. He didn’t play for over a year after being let go from Houston in November 2018 then waived by the Chicago Bulls. The Portland Trailblazers took a chance on the 10 time NBA All-Star and it’s paid off big time. He’s had a number of 20 plus point games and hit the game winner for the Blazers over the NBA Champion Toronto Raptors on Jan. 7. So that begs the question why pal LeBron James, 35, didn’t fight to get him on the L.A. Lakers when Melo was available.
“LeBron is very happy for Carmelo and he knew that he still had some left in the tank to contribute to the NBA. There was a point that LeBron wanted Carmelo on the Lakers but that fell through solely because they ended up chasing Anthony Davis for the team and had to also fill the team with players they could afford,” a source shared with HollywoodLife, EXCLUSIVELY.
“There is a whole process involved and a salary cap to adhere to in the NBA and the Lakers wouldn’t be able to pay Carmelo what he deserved. So that is why they never offered him a contract in the long run,” the source continued. But there’s absolutely no bad blood between the NBA ballers. King James is even incredibly happy to see Carmelo on the court with the Trail Blazers! “LeBron loves seeing Carmelo thrive and believes everything happens for a reason but he is not regretting the fact that Carmelo is on the Lakers because things are working out pretty good for the Lakers as they have one of the best records in the league. So LeBron is happy with how everything turned out.”
It’s true, too, that while LeBron and the LA Lakers are having a great season, thus far, Carmelo and the Portland Trail Blazers are blazing a trail in the Western Conference rankings. Currently ranked at number one, the Lakers boast a total of 30 wins compared to seven losses. The Trail Blazers, however, have just cracked the top 10 and sit at the number 10 ranking with 16 wins compared to 22 losses. As the season continues to speed down the court, fans can feel fairly pleased that these two on-court giants still maintain a lot of respect for one another. We hope to see them both on the court soon!