What’s Next for Carmelo Anthony After a Turbulent Year?

With Carmelo Anthony set to enter free agency again, what team makes the most sense for his services? The Crossover podcast examines his market and possible teams that could work.

Carmelo Anthony is on the move again after the Rockets traded him to the Bulls on Monday. He will reportedly be waived by Chicago and become a free agent. But what team will give him a chance? It has long been rumored that the Lakers have been interested due to his connection with LeBron James but it is not clear if they will waive a contract for him.

On the latest Crossover podcast, Chris Mannix is joined by YES Network analyst and Fox Sports NBA Insider Sarah Kustok to chat about what’s next for Carmelo and possible teams that might be interested.

(Listen to the latest Crossover podcast here. The following transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Chris Mannix: Carmelo Anthony at some point is going to become a free agent once again and I don’t really know what the market place is going to look like for him. Everybody is kind of connecting him to the Lakers but everything I have heard…

Sarah Kustok: They would have to waive a guaranteed player?

Mannix: A part of me thinks the Lakers are saying that because they don’t really want him. Maybe it’s the LeBron connection but I don’t think the Lakers as a team is all that interested. A team that I think that would be interested is Miami. Miami has no problem taking on distress assets and trying to squeeze something extra out of something. Hassan Whiteside is still there. Dion Waiters is still there. I think Miami could potentially be a landing spot, especially with Dwyane Wade still playing but outside of that, I don’t know where it makes sense for Carmelo Anthony at this point. On top of it, he hasn’t played in two months, so what kind of condition is he in?

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Kustok: To me, that is the biggest aspect. He hasn’t played that much and how many people at the stage of his career can just bounce back and be ready to play, contribute and make impact? You are probably right in Miami being the best option but I don’t see it happening with the Lakers.

I have the utmost respect for the career that Carmelo Anthony has had, the player that he was—to come to this point—I think Houston to me was the last shot. And the fact that it lasted like 10 games and they were paying him the minimum and they still felt like it wasn’t the right fit for their team, shows me that it might be time for him to just hang it up. I don’t know if that’s what he wants and that’s his decision.

And if he does go to Miami—will he be contributing to the lineup? How much playing time will he get? Will he come off the bench? I think that factors in what he should be doing or whatever he wants to be doing. I think that is his own decision and I think that is a big part of it. I am not sure what options would be out there for him.

Mannix: The Miami situation is bonkers because they would have probably made a run at John Wall if he didn’t get hurt. They just think they can take anybody and put them into that system and squeeze something positive out of them. What we learned, what Houston learned and what Houston probably should have known, given what we seen at the end of last season, is that Carmelo Anthony at this stage of his career is a role player and he doesn’t have the depth of skills to be an effective role player.

At his best he could be a volume scorer for you. When he gets it rolling, he is still capable of giving you 15, 20 or 25 points. But if he is not, he is not defending at a high-level and he’s not rebounding at a high-level. So where do you plug him in? What winner is going to take him on and plug him into a role that makes sense for him?