Carmelo Anthony unlikely to come to Portland, Damian Lillard said

Blazers superstar Damian Lillard said that the chances of Carmelo Anthony coming to Portland is slim. Lillard has been actively trying to recruit the 35-year-old since 2017 but was rejected twice. Due to this, both the guard and the team has essentially given up on the veteran forward.

“I tried, two years ago I tried to get 'Melo to come to Portland, and he went to Oklahoma City. Then after that, I tried to get [Carmelo Anthony] to come to Portland again, and he went to Houston,” Lillard said.

Of course, if the Blazers really wanted to, they can still add the 10-time All-Star into the team since they still have a spot on their roster. But since the organization hasn’t made a move, it’s unlikely that Carmelo Anthony will be wearing black and red in the foreseeable future.

Carmelo Anthony and his waning effectiveness

There are a lot of reasons why ‘Melo remains unsigned. Among them is the fact that he’s no longer the player he once was. Gone are the days where he can score at will and light up the scoreboard all night long. Add the fact that Carmelo Anthony has never been a defensive asset to begin with, and it just gets worse from there.

But NBA pundit Stephen A. Smith said a couple of weeks ago that the reason why the veteran hasn’t been picked up was due to a smear campaign that is happening within the league, with coaches and general managers apparently fanning the flame. While this remains a rumor for now, Carmelo Anthony’s rep is supposedly trying to change people’s perception of him and is fighting to dispel the narrative that he’s a “team killer,” Heavy reported.

Carmelo Anthony being used as a scapegoat

As league sources would have it, ‘Melo’s bad image was due to team using him as scapegoats whenever they didn’t meet the expectations they aimed for. Indeed, Carmelo Anthony only lasted 10 games with the Rockets and was mostly blamed why the team started with a 4-6 record. ‘Melo himself spoke about this matter and said that he was essentially fired by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey even though it was too early in the season to gauge his effectiveness.

Following this, Carmelo Anthony went to his good friend Chris Paul and asked what was happening, to which the guard replied that he had no idea Morey fired him. James Harden was in a similar boat as well. But all hope is not lost for ‘Melo as the Nets are apparently interested in signing him.