LOS ANGELES, CA — Monday afternoon forward Carmelo Anthony was introduced to the media after signing a 1-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers last week. Anthony was smiling and confident that his newest role is a great fit for him as well as his new teammates this season.
Anthony felt it was time to join forces with his longtime friend and fellow superstar Lebron James in order to compete for a championship.
“Bron just came to me one time and said, ‘Yo, the time is now. I want you. We got to make this happen,'” Anthony said. “And I just felt like for right now, this is the best time.
“Most people would say we should’ve gotten together years ago early in our careers, but we were in two different lanes, we were on two different paths.“
The 37-year forward will team up with not only James, but Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol, Russell Westbrook, and Trevor Ariza. Anthony shot 41% from the three point line, and averaged 18.4 ppg and 3 rpg last season. He’s open to playing any role in order to help the team achieve the ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship.
“I had to swallow that ego. I had to swallow that pride,” Anthony said. “But I also had to use that ego and that pride to keep me on edge and keep me motivated. And I’ve accepted that. It played out well in Portland. Again, that was my first time doing it and experiencing that at that level. But I enjoyed it. It was fun, it was basketball and I was still able to do my thing and play ball and have fun and have the love for the game again.“
Although Anthony has never been to an NBA Finals, he’s only made it to the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers and Kobe Bryant. The bond that he and Bryant shared was special as Anthony alluded to the fact that he always felt connected to the Lakers in some way over the years.
“Whether it was through my brother Kobe, regardless of what it is, I’ve always been connected to it some way, somehow,” he said. “It wasn’t really no pitch this time. I think it was really just more of an understanding. Like, ‘OK, the time is now. The time is now for both parties to merge, for both parties to agree to come together, and let’s put this thing together.‘”
With age comes wisdom and this is a group that potentially has five future hall of famers on this team. However the window is now to capture an 18th championship, the question is can this elite group of Lakers stay healthy and get it done?
