Carmelo Is Back Ya’all
Carmelo Anthony’s long-awaited return to the NBA will finally come to pass. The veteran forward and 10-time All-Star will sign a non guaranteed deal with the Trail Blazers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday.
Portland is signing Carmelo Anthony, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2019
Anthony, 35, hasn’t played a game in the NBA since November of last year when he was a member of the Houston Rockets, a fact taken advantage of by fans who have looked for offshore sportsbooks examples. For a while there, it didn’t seem like Anthony was ever going to play in the NBA again, but he’ll get one last shot on a Portland team that is desperate to turn things around after a 4-8 start to the season.
The Trail Blazers, who made it all the way to the Conference Finals a year ago, have looked out of sorts this season, and a recent injury to Zach Collins has left them thin at the forward position.
It’s unclear what Anthony’s role will be with Portland, but he’s likely a candidate to come off the bench and provide the team with a scoring lift. We’ll know more when Anthony joins his new team for an upcoming road trip that starts Saturday in San Antonio against the Spurs.
Caris LeVert Can’t Catch a Break
With all of the incredible sporting events that are available to fans, the Nets guard is dealing with another significant injury just nine games into the season. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, LeVert is expected to be out four to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair ligaments in his right thumb.
Timeline on a Caris LeVert return to Nets after today’s surgery to repair ligaments in thumb: Four to six weeks, per sources.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 14, 2019
LeVert, 22, was in the middle of a comeback season after missing most of last year following a gruesome leg injury. Through nine games, he was averaging the third-most points on the team with 16.8 per game.
Brooklyn is already without forward Kevin Durant for the season, and point guard Kyrie Irving is dealing with a shoulder injury of his own, not to mention the incredible burden he’s carrying as the team’s main source of offense. With LeVert now out for an extended period of time, the Nets will have to look elsewhere for scoring.
Getting the Magic Back
Coming off a season in which they snapped a six-year playoff drought, the Magic have stumbled out of the gate to start the season by losing seven of their first 10 games, and a lack of offense appears to be a big reason why.
Orlando is one of just two teams currently averaging less than 100 points per game. Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross and Al-Farouq Aminu, who the team heavily invested in during free agency, have all struggled offensively. Ross and Aminu, in particular, have been especially bad shooting the basketball with field-goal percentages in the 30s through the first 10 games.
That said, one solution to Orlando’s offensive woes would be to make a trade, and it appears the Magic have their sights set on San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan. According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, the Magic are “scouring the trade market for scoring help,” and they’ve apparently expressed interest in trading for DeRozan. As O’Connor points out, the Spurs might be inclined to trade the veteran forward since he can become a free agent in 2020.
DeRozan is currently averaging 19.4 points on 49.3 percent shooting. He has consistently averaged at least 20 points per game the past six seasons.
It’s still somewhat early in the season to be talking trades, but this is definitely something to keep an eye on as we get close to the trade deadline. DeRozan was a dominant scorer in Toronto with the Raptors a few years back, and he’s had his moments in San Antonio.