Carmelo Anthony seals Portland move

LOS ANGELES, USA – Ten-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony has completed his move to the Portland Trail Blazers, the team confirmed on Tuesday, November 19 (Wednesday, November 20, Philippine time).

Anthony, who has not played in more than a year since being axed by the Houston Rockets, joins a Blazers side which is languishing near the foot of the Western Conference with 5 wins and 9 defeats.

“Carmelo is an established star in this league that will provide a respected presence in our locker room and a skill set at a position of need on the floor,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said.

The 35-year-old Anthony has averaged 24 points across 1,064 games of his 16 season career which included spells with Denver, New York, Oklahoma City and Houston.

Anthony, who was a member of the USA’s Olympic gold medal-winning teams in 2008, 2012 and 2016, will wear the No.00 jersey for Portland.

Anthony said in a video on his YouTube channel that he was looking forward to the next chapter in his career, describing the move to Portland as a “perfect opportunity.”

“I always kept my eye on Portland. It just didn’t work out at other times, but now it seems like it’s a perfect opportunity,” Anthony said.

Anthony’s recent career history has seen spells of turbulence, with the player objecting to being used largely off the bench by Oklahoma City.

Anthony however said he had learned from recent experiences and was ready to adapt to any role.

“What happened before is the past, I can’t dwell on that, I learned from that,” Anthony said. 

“This happened at a point in time in my life where I do have a lot of clarity and understanding of different situations and just life, and my approach is totally different.” – Rappler.com