Nets no longer interested in Carmelo Anthony, Shams Charania said

Earlier this month, a rumor made its round on the web claiming that Carmelo Anthony is being eyed by the Nets. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are apparently trying to push for this move, but nothing has materialized so far.

The claim was made by The Athletic’s Frank Isola. Fast forward a couple of weeks later, and Carmelo Anthony responded to the rumor essentially saying that he would be thrilled to play with both superstars.

But as September comes to a close, the veteran is still without a team. What’s worse is that Shams Charania of The Athletic published an article earlier this week saying that it’s “very unlikely” that the Nets will sign him despite the team needing to shore up its forward position. So is there any chance that Carmelo Anthony will be signed before the month ends?

How Carmelo Anthony may have hurt his career

That’s unlikely. Although the 35-year-old undoubtedly still has some gas left in him, the problem is that he has never shown the league that he can be a reliable bench player. Carmelo Anthony has been singing the right tunes when he sat down with Stephen A. Smith on “First Take” a month ago.

But as they in “Game of Thrones,” words are wind. Yahoo Sports senior NBA writer Chris Haynes recently said that Carmelo Anthony might have hurt his career not showing NBA teams that he can be a solid contributor.

“The problem was that the last three years were Carmelo’s window to kind of show teams that ‘I’m willing to reduce my role’ and ‘I’m okay and good with being the 15, 20-minute guy, know my role, know the leadership role I have to take on,’ and he didn’t showcase that in the last two to three years. That’s the last defining image that these teams have of Carmelo [Anthony],” Haynes said.

Carmelo Anthony’s best hope is after the All-Star break

What’s more, the vet’s offensive threat has been declining over the years. Compounding that is the fact that Carmelo Anthony hasn’t played a single NBA game since November. Sure, he may have been training with some of the Nets players. But there’s a world of difference between a practice game and the real thing.

The best that he can hope for is after the All-Star break where teams could be looking to shore up their roster. Theoretically, Carmelo Anthony could provide some valuable minutes for the team. The problem is that is he the right fit for them? Are his skills set in line with what the coach is envisioning for the squad? Those are some of the many questions that are obstructing ‘Melo from getting signed.