PORTLAND, Ore. — Carmelo Anthony is back in the NBA, and two years after Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum put on a full-court press to get him to accept a trade to Portland, he'll finally be suiting up for the Blazers.
Portland signed Anthony to a non-guaranteed contract, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and they'll be asking the 35-year-old, 10-time All Star to fill a role and help the team's banged-up and ineffective frontcourt.
The Blazers' 4-8 start and their glaring hole at power forward make this a smart, low-risk signing because of the non-guaranteed contract. If Anthony can accept a role, provide offense at the four in Portland's system, and defend well enough to stay on the court, he can help the Blazers.
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KGW's 3-on-3 Blazers podcast team got together for an emergency podcast on Friday to talk about Anthony signing with the Blazers, how he'll fit with the team, and more.
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Portland needs the offense Anthony can theoretically provide. The Blazers rank 15th in offensive rating, a steep drop from last season when Portland ranked third.
Anthony certainly won't help the team's 19th-ranked defense or their poor rebounding (they rank 23rd in rebound percentage), but if he can help Portland get better on offense, it might help the team win a few more games than they would have running Anthony Tolliver, Mario Hezonja or 19-year-old rookie Nassir Little out at the four.