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Melo Should Ride Into The Sunset And Enjoy His Family, Says Shawn Marion

(AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

The signing rumors surrounding  Carmelo Anthony since he was released back in mid-January from the Chicago Bulls have not stopped.  Around the trade deadline, Heavy’s Brandon Robinson reported that LeBron James camp wanted the Los Angeles Lakers front off to sign  Anthony. Per Robinson, he received a text message from a league source close to the situation.

“LeBron’s camp is insisting on the front office signing Melo,” a league source with knowledge of the Lakers told me via text message this afternoon.

As for the Lakers though, “But the team wants to go in a different direction.”

Two-weeks agoSyracuse.com’s raised the question should the Boston Celtics consider signing the ten-time All-Star

The Boston Globe writer Gary Washburn stated that the Celtics should use their open roster spot to sign a veteran scorer on the open market and inserted Melo ’s name.

“The Celtics need to take a chance here and that could be someone such as a Carmelo Anthony, who is sitting at home in New York waiting for a call,” Washburn wrote Sunday night. “Before ‘Oh hell no, not him’ is your first reaction, the Celtics wouldn’t be signing 2013 Carmelo or the one who will demand 30 minutes and play no defense.”

“They need a boost off the bench… If there isn’t enough minutes for a player such as Anthony, then he becomes a mentor and another veteran who can help his younger teammates.”

Last week, Bluemanhoop.com’s Nathan Beighle, raise the question should the Warriors experiment with a Carmelo Anthony signing?

Signing Melo might help their bench scoring that is currently ranked second to last in the NBA averaging  28.8 points per game. Over the course of his 16-year career, Anthony has averaged 24 points, which would give a boost to the Warriors bench it could be a situation that could help both parties. Melo is being asked to carry a team and when Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and KD are on the bench resting there is still someone on the floor that can score points.

“It’s not a hidden secret. The Golden State Warriors have one of the league’s worst benches. This is partially due to the fact that they’ve spent such a vast majority of their cap space on their starters that they didn’t save money to improve their bench. There is a player just looking for a chance to compete, would likely the take the minimum, and is one of the league’s all-time best scorers. That player is Carmelo Anthony,” said Blue Man Hoop.

Recently before a Mavericks vs Pelicans game, I spoke to former Maverick Shawn Marion to get his take on was he shocked that Melo was still unsigned?

“It is kind of hard to say I am shocked or not. In all fairness, he has had a great career I love Carmelo’s game and he was a true professional everywhere he went. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about him, but his still doesn’t fit some of the teams and they feel they have enough or he doesn’t bring any value them. That is probably why he is not picked up, but at the same time, I don’t want to see him on another team just me being selfish. I feel like he ’s had an H*** of a career run off into the sunset, be a father, and enjoy your family,“ Marion told me.

Other players around the league still think he should be playing. For example,  Blake Griffin, Hassan Whiteside, Rodney Hood,  CJ Miles, and DeMar DeRozan

“Melo is a Hall of Famer, and I think it is funny how fickle today’s world with social media and everything has become what have you done for me lately. I don’t if they remember how good of a player he was and still is. Sometimes it’s the situation; it’s sucks to see as a basketball player to see people act he is something he is not, said Griffin.

“I have a feeling Melo will turn it around.”

“I think the analytics is what did that to him. He is a bucket that is what he is, and I understand the situation went a certain way, but he still is Melo.  He still has a lot in his tank, and he can still play this game. I think situations have gone his way, but the slander, talk is crazy a lot of the time,“ said Miles.

After morning shootaround in Dallas last month, Heat Center Hassan Whiteside had this to say about Melo.

“Wow a Carmelo question, said Whiteside, “Carmelo is a scoring machine.“

“ Yeah definitely, I mean this is a guy who is probably to this today, one of the hardest guys to guard.  In isolation type of situations and he is a legend.  He is one of my favorite players to ever play and it is tough to see him go through what he is going through in the media.  I think he can definitely help a team, especially when playoff time comes when things start to stagnate. He is a veteran, so I hope he lands on his feet,“  Hood told me.

A couple of weeks ago, the San Antonio Spurs were in Dallas to play the Dallas Mavericks.  The Spurs beat the Mavericks 112-105. After the game,  DeMar DeRozan was asked if he was surprised that Carmelo Anthony had not been signed.

“Yes, one of the All-time greatest scorers, Hall of Fame player.  So, it’s definitely crazy not to see him out there, but I’m confident he will be back out there,” DeRozan told me.

This past weekend the Cavaliers ended a three-game road streak in Dallas, as they took on the Dallas Mavericks.  Before morning shootaround, Kevin Love answered various questions from the media, including one about Melo’s game still being able to translate into today’s game.

“Absolutely! Melo’s game translates, and he is another guy I respect and admired for a really long time.  The way he approaches the game and I think it is always tough to see these savvy veterans get a bad name with a 24-hour news cycle. But Melo can still bring a hell of a lot to a team, and if you get him on the right team, there is going to be a lot of firepower for those guys, Love told me.“

What do you think?

Written by Landon Buford

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