*FAN SUBMISSION by Brenton Randolph of Richmond, VA. Follow him on Twitter @juicejones35.*
Courtesy: NY Daily News
The drama involving Carmelo Anthony’s free agency is about to reach a boiling point.
Anthony has met with the teams that he was reportedly interested in signing with and has narrowed his choices down to the Knicks, Bulls and Lakers. He is unquestionably the second most sought after free agent in the 2014 class, behind LeBron James, and would be an asset to any team that could sign him. Usually someone like Anthony would be the lone missing piece to a team’s championship puzzle, but all three teams would still have questions to answer even if they signed him. These teams would still be a piece or two away from being championship contenders. They would have to consider the pros and cons of adding him and he would have to consider the pros and cons of joining them.
The first team that Anthony met with was the Chicago Bulls. If he teamed up with Derrick Rose, they would immediately become one of the deadliest one-two combinations in the NBA. The Bulls also had the best defense in the league last year, led by the defensive player of the year, Joakim Noah and wingman Jimmy Butler. They’ll amnesty Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson will assume the starting spot at power forward. Their starting five would easily be the strongest from top to bottom in the Eastern Conference and one of the strongest in the NBA.
With that said, the Bulls’ bench could use some improvement. They would continue to be too dependent on Derrick Rose’s health to make them a championship contending team. They need another versatile scorer to provide insurance just in case Rose gets injured again. If they don’t sign that piece and Rose gets hurt, the scoring load would be on Anthony’s shoulders again like it was in New York, only with an improved defense. Teams could just focus on stopping Anthony, knowing that nobody else is a serious threat to score since the Bulls’ offense ranked last in the NBA last season.
The second team in the running for Anthony is the Los Angeles Lakers. If he signed with the Lakers he would be pairing up with another one of the league’s best in Kobe Bryant. The Lakers also drafted Julius Randle 7th overall. Randle has the potential to be a solid post presence and could complement Bryant and Anthony’s game well. However, Anthony and Bryant might not complement each other because they play a lot of isolation basketball. This could lead to chemistry issues that are similar to the ones LeBron James and Dwyane Wade experienced in their first season together. Another challenge the Lakers would face is filling out the rest of their roster. They could still lose Pau Gasol to free agency and the rest of their roster wouldn’t stack up to the loaded Western Conference. Keeping Gasol would help but the Lakers would still need a point guard that could run the show.
The final team in the running of the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes is the incumbent New York Knicks. Anthony has been a member of the Knicks for the past three years and the team has had its ups and downs since his arrival. The high point came in 2013 when the Knicks won the Atlantic Division for the first time since the 1993-94 season and Anthony made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the second time in his career. That success was short lived as the Knicks fell apart last year, finishing 37-45 and missing the playoffs. It was the first time Anthony had missed the playoffs in his career. The Knicks new president, Phil Jackson, has made some moves to help improve upon the team’s struggles from last season, trading Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler to the Mavericks for Jose Calderon. That upgrades their point guard situation but still leaves a hole at the center position. Also, their role players like J.R. Smith and Andrea Bargnani were highly inconsistent last year. They would need to bring in at least one more person to bring stability to that team even if they were to resign Anthony.
All three teams would benefit from signing Anthony but they would still have work to do even if they landed the superstar free agent. Each team has holes that Anthony just can’t cover. Carmelo Anthony might be a huge asset but he isn’t the final piece to the Bulls’, Lakers’ or Knicks’ championship puzzle.
