The Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks are reportedly looking forward to sign up Carmelo Anthony.
Bally Sports contributor Brandon Robinson said the Celtics considered Anthony as the potential signee since their latest addition Danilo Gallinari suffered a knee injury during Italy’s FIBA World Cup qualifier against Georgia on Sunday. He is expected to be out of the game for at least two months in order to recover.
Carmelo Anthony has been considered a potential signee by the Boston Celtics in recent days following Danilo Gallinari's suffered torn meniscus in his left knee on Saturday, I'm told.
Knicks are still believed to have interest in the former Laker, Thunder, Blazer, Rocket. pic.twitter.com/nGePtMj7YI
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) August 31, 2022
“Carmelo Anthony has been considered a potential signee by the Boston Celtics in recent days following Danilo Gallinari’s suffered torn meniscus in his left knee on Saturday, I’m told. Knicks are still believed to have interest in the former Laker, Thunder, Blazer, Rocket,” Robinson wrote.
The Knicks are reportedly the second team to show interest in Anthony, having played for them before. They are said to plan bringing him back to Madison Square Garden where he won the NBA’s scoring title in 2013.
Compared to the Knicks, the Celtics has more impressive run in the last season, being the second seed in the Eastern Conference and made it to the NBA Finals. Throughout the offseason, the Celtics made a trade with the Indiana Pacers for star point guard Malcolm Brogdon.
Anthony’s profiles, skills
The 38-year-old Anthony has played 69 games for the Los Angeles Lakers last season. He averaged 13.3 points per game on 38 percent shooting from behind the arc and 44 percent from the field.
Throughout his career, he has played for the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers and the Knicks. He has participated in over 20 NBA seasons and played 16 postseason series, in overall winning three times and has gone 28-55 (.337 winning percentage).
Joe Lyons from Basketball Insider said he was considered to still be more than capable of making some significant impact on any team while also adding elite veteran leadership and playoff experience. For the past few years, Anthony has been accepting a bench role, but still prove to be good in the minutes he played.
However, NBC Sports contributor John Tomase questioned Anthony’s adaptability with the Celtics. According to Tomase, Anthony has always been a scorer who doesn’t play defense and should play for a team that support him on that end of the court.
Should the Celtics sign Carmelo Anthony in free agency?
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) August 31, 2022
Comparison to Tatum
For over 19 years and 10 All-Star appearances, Anthony has been known to only advance out of the first round twice. Tomase has compared him to Jayson Tatum due to their similarities.
“He has all the skills to be ‘Melo, after all. Both were third overall picks at age 19, both were all-NBA selections by age 21 and both are gifted individual scorers who entered the league believing that passing only existed as a means of getting them the ball,” Tomase wrote.
Comparing Anthony to Tatum further, Tomase said that Tatum has already started as many playoff games in five season as Anthony has in two decades. Tatum started in 74 playoff games while Anthony has 77.
According to Tomase, Tatum has reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice and the NBA Finals once, where the Bolton Celtics lost against the Golden State Warriors.