Carmelo Anthony Says He Considered Returning To Knicks Before Signing With Lakers

(via USA Today)

USA Today

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10x All-Star Carmelo Anthony has come a long way since his days as a star for the Denver Nuggets.

After making a home for himself in New York, as a Knick, where he played for 7 seasons before being shipped to Oklahoma City. Eventually, he was exiled from the league completely and found himself without a job after 10 games of the 2018-19 season.

Anthony was given another chance in Portland, where he revived his career and went on to open many opportunities in 2021 free agency.

In the end, he chose to join the Purple and Gold, with the hopes that he could finally add a Champion to his illustrious resume.

But as the 18-year veteran revealed on 'Posted Up' with Chris Haynes, he did consider returning to New York this summer.

“It was (hard) because I had just moved and bought a house in New York,” Anthony said. “It was unexpected. My son starts school (today) in New York. So it was like, I’m here, I’m home. I never expected the Lakers to call.”

It sounds like he was content with staying in New York, and it's no secret that it's a place he has considered home for a long time now.

Ultimately, it was winning that drove Melo to L.A. instead, and when the Lakers came calling, it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

“Having a great chance to win [was what made me decide to join the Lakers]. It took me some days to really like sit down and kind of break it down and really dig deep into making that decision,” Anthony said.

“To most people, it probably would have been an easy decision to make. But to me, it wasn’t. I really have to align a lot of things and put things in order for things to work out, for me to feel comfortable to be away from my family for another year and the kids not being there. People don’t understand that part. That’s the hardest part. The basketball (part) is easy.”

The New York Knicks aren't the same team they were when Melo left them. For the first time in years, the franchise is ripe with pride and optimism about their future, and things appear to be finally headed in the right direction.

But, for Anthony, he's running out of time to become a Champion. At 37-years-old, this could very well be his last chance.

We'll see soon enough if his decision this summer pays off, and if he'll ever end up wearing a Knicks jersey again.