Report: Celtics, Heat perceived as 'dark horses' to land Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony proved to be one of the lone bright spots in the Los Angeles Lakers’ otherwise disappointing 2021-22 NBA season.

The veteran was brought on last summer to provide instant offense and a scoring presence off the bench. He delivered on both counts.

In the process, Anthony ensured that he would have no shortage of squads seeking out his services in the offseason.

Two teams, in particular, seem like especially likely landing spots for Anthony come next year.

“Two other East teams were mentioned as dark horses: The Celtics and Heat,” wrote NBA insider Sean Deveney recently.

“Anthony certainly would be amenable to a season in Miami, playing with veterans like Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, as well as Bam Adebayo. ‘That is one place I could see both sides saying it makes sense,’ a Western Conference executive said. ‘But only if Miami makes a trade. They have a lot of young guys who need minutes and they have to figure out how that will be sorted. If it is Melo (Anthony) or, say, Caleb Martin, they’re going to keep building up Martin.’”

Boston is also a team to watch.

“There was some consideration of signing Anthony from the Celtics in 2019, when some in the organization felt that team needed more veterans on a youth-addled bench,” Deveney added.

“Team president Danny Ainge was not among them, though, so the notion of bringing Anthony to Boston never got too far. That could change under Brad Stevens.”

Anthony averaged 13.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 69 games for L.A. this past season. Clearly, he has a lot left in the tank.

Anthony has been very blunt about the Lakers’ failure to win a title this year. When he made the hard call to depart Portland, the move drew a fierce reaction from Damian Lillard, which resulted in a forthright response from Anthony, which led to an eventual follow-up from Lillard.

It goes without saying, Anthony made some sacrifices to join the Lakers. Sacrifices that, ultimately, weren’t rewarded.

Where will the future Hall of Famer ultimately end up next season? Time will tell.