Lakers Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Linked to Brooklyn Nets by NBA Executive

According to at least one NBA executive, there's been some chatter about the Nets signing former Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony.

In case Lakers fans needed any more evidence of just how bad the bench was last year, five of the aging veterans from the 2021-2022 LA roster are still free agents - in late August. Including, 10-time All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony.

To his credit, Carmelo was one of the few bright spots of the geriatric Lakers bench last year. The Lakers signed him to add scoring punch, and Anthony did just that. The future Hall-of-Famer and member of the NBA 75th Anniversary team averaged 13.3 PPG and shot 37.5% from three in 69 games last season.

Although there's been some speculation that the Lakers are still open to the idea of bringing Carmelo back, one NBA executive believes that the Nets could in play as well to sign Anthony (quotes via Thomas Darro of Heavy.com).

"There has been some talk about them [Brooklyn] signing Carmelo Anthony, maybe as a nod to Kevin Durant, but obviously that has not gotten anywhere, at least not yet.”

Darro noted that in the past, Durant has had some level of desire to play alongside Anthony. 

Considering Durant's recent demands to Nets owner Joe Tsai that he'll only play for Brooklyn next year if both general manager Sean Marks and head coach are fired, and Tsai's subsequent response that Marks and Nash have his "full support", it appears that the organization is finished with letting KD call the shots. Which could nix any thought of the Nets signing Melo just to appease Durant.

At the moment, Carmelo has been relatively quiet about his future plans, but re-signing with the Lakers still isn't completely out of the question.