LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and More Stars React to Carmelo Anthony (Finally) Returning to the NBA
Carmelo Anthony finally has a chance to prove he belongs in the NBA.
The 35-year-old was signed by the Portland Trailblazers on Thursday, more than a year after he was cut by the Houston Rockets just a few games into the season in 2018. The agreement is non-guaranteed, according to ESPN, meaning Portland can end the contract at any time and the team isn’t required to pay any remaining salary.
Portland is hoping Anthony can provide a much-needed spark to their season, which has seen them fall to a 4-8 record, topped off by a current two-game losing streak. Last year, the Trailblazers ended their season with a 53-29 record, becoming third in the Western Conference.
Anthony, a 10-time NBA All-Star, will be with the team when they go on a six-game road trip starting on Saturday. Just two days later on Monday, he will join Portland when they visit Houston to play the Rockets, the team that released him.
After the news of the signing was made public, Anthony’s NBA friends celebrated his second chance. “It’s about damn time!” wrote recently retired future NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade.
“Right!!” LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers responded.
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It’s about damn time‼️ https://t.co/6A3wDbbrQ2
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) November 15, 2019
RIGHT!!!! 🙌🏾 https://t.co/7wCnzozgNV
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 15, 2019
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Legendary player Allen Iverson, who briefly played with Anthony during his time on the Denver Nuggets, also gave a shout-out on Instagram.
“Thank you to the @trailblazers organization for giving my guy @carmeloanthony a chance!” Iverson wrote. “Show up and show out killa!”
A post shared by Allen Iverson (@theofficialai3) on Nov 14, 2019 at 9:16pm PST
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NBA player Jamal Crawford chimed in with a tweet that read, “Congrats Melo!” while Utah Jazz star Donavan Mitchell replied, “Bout time!”
The Trailblazers will the seventh team Anthony has been a part of throughout this NBA career. He played for the Nuggets for six seasons after he was selected No. 3 in the 2003 NBA Draft. He joined the New York Knicks in 2011, and was later traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.
From there he joined the Rockets, and then was briefly on the rosters of both the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, but did not join the teams for a single game.
