Carmelo Anthony came off the bench regularly for the Trail Blazers last season, and he’s willing to do the same with the Lakers, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.
Like numerous free-agent additions on the roster, Anthony signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Lakers with the aim of finally winning a championship ring.
“I’ve had experience being a starter for 18, 17 years and had an experience of coming off the bench for one year,” Anthony said. “It’s not something I think about.”
During the 2018-19 season, Anthony played just 10 games with Houston because he was unhappy with a bench role. He started regularly in 2019-20 after signing with Portland but accepted a second-unit role last season. He started only three of 69 regular-season games.
He’s willing to do whatever coach Frank Vogel asks this season.
“Whatever he wants, let’s do it,” Anthony said. “I’m not even trippin’ about that at this point. Because let’s go. Let’s go win.”
Trevor Ariza is the current favorite to join Anthony Davis and LeBron James in the starting frontcourt. Anthony, who averaged 13.4 points in 24.5 minutes per game last season, is projected to be the primary backup at power forward.
“When we spoke before he signed here, I told him that I envisioned a big role on this team,” Vogel said. “I don’t know what that’s going to look like, whether he’s going to start, whether he’s going to come off the bench, but that he’s going to be a factor for us.”
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