Denver may have missed out on LeBron James in the free agency sweepstakes, but another member of his is once again on the market.
But don’t get your hopes up for Chris Paul, Nuggets fans. It’s someone with a slightly more familiar face.
According to ESPN, the cash-strapped Oklahoma City Thunder are set to part ways with veteran forward — and former Denver resident — Carmelo Anthony in order to ease the team’s enormous luxury tax bill.
Breaking: Carmelo Anthony and the Thunder will part ways sometime this summer, league sources tell and .
OKC will work with Anthony's reps and evaluate options including trade, buyout and/or stretch provision, which could save the team over $100 million.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter)
The 34-year-old, who was drafted third overall by the Nuggets in 2003, is coming off the least productive season of his career, scoring just 16.2 points a night on 40 percent shooting alongside the Tasmanian Devil-esque Russell Westbrook and fellow Thunder newcomer Paul George.
So where will he land? Here’s a breakdown that is by no means meant to be informative, comprehensive or even intelligible.
Los Angeles Lakers
We know his pal LeBron is already there, and we know he’s already being surrounded by pieces that may or may not be much of an upgrade over his recent Cavaliers rosters. What’s one more in Carmelo?
Of course, things could get confusing for the Anthony family, given the city and his wife La La share a moniker.
Miami Heat
Fellow banana boat rider Dwyane Wade still runs things in the 305, and having spent nearly his entire NBA career in cities with snowy winters, why wouldn’t Melo want to relax in the Florida sunshine this winter?
He missed the Pat Riley era in New York, but maybe Carmelo could take his talents to South Beach and meet him there.
Golden State Warriors
I mean, everybody else is going to the Bay Area. Why not throw another all-star into Steve Kerr’s rotations and see how one more alpha-dog personality in the mix changes things?
Adding DeMarcus Cousins earlier this week basically locked the Warriors in for a championship three-peat, but it didn’t take long for more than one wag on Twitter to suggest there’s only one way to stop Golden State.
https://twitter.com/CleverHoops/status/1014582796352983040
Denver Nuggets
Melo left the Mile High City long before I arrived, so I can’t speak to the feeling in Denver in 2011 as the Nuggets star forced his way out of town. But I can remember the “Melodrama” and his subsequent departure for New York as clearly as though it were yesterday.
“Why would we want him back?” I can already hear you asking. “We have a young, exciting core; we don’t need a ball-stopping scorer on the downslope of his career! And hey, Nikola Jokic wears No. 15 now!”
These are all good, sensible arguments. But you gotta admit it would be fun for nostalgia reasons to see Carmelo in the new Nuggets colors, running the floor at the Pepsi Center.
And hey — LeBron left Cleveland in ugly circumstances in 2010, did some growing up, then returned a hero to the team that drafted him. Who says Mr. Anthony can’t do the same?
Editor’s note: Update from our Nuggets beat writer Gina Mizell, who actually knows what she’s talking about: Denver can’t afford to add Melo. So that shoots a hole in that fantasy.
