LeBron James to Carmelo Anthony about joining the Lakers: ‘The time is now’
Inevitably, the conversation often shifted back to the same topic no matter the setting.
When LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony talked after Team USA practices, NBA All-Star games, on the phone or during vacations, the two often discussed a topic that intrigued NBA fans ever since both entered the league 18 years ago. What if James and Anthony played on the same NBA team?
“For years, we always laughed about it,” Anthony said, “and spoke about it on what it would be like.”
Lately, the topic no longer became a pipedream and a joking manner. James has wanted to collect more than four NBA championship trophies. Anthony has wanted at least to receive one. So with James hoping to delay Father Time and Anthony hoping to prolong his NBA career, James recently offered a more serious message.
“The time is now. I want you,” James told Anthony. “We have to make this happen.”
And so they did. After playing for so-called “Super Teams” in Miami and Cleveland, James once again will play with a handful of future Hall of Famers. James will play with Anthony Davis for a third consecutive season. James will play with Russell Westbrook after the Lakers acquired him from Washington in exchange for the No. 22 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell. And James will play with Anthony, who joined the Lakers on a one-year deal after accepting similar contracts with the Portland Trail Blazers the past two seasons on a reduced role.
“Most people would say you should’ve gotten together years ago or earlier in our careers. But we were in two different lanes,” Anthony said. “We were in two different paths. Everything comes full circle.”
Back when Anthony and James played on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, the two had talked about teaming up together. James did the same with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. While Wade and Bosh maintained interest with aligning their free agency for the 2010 offseason, Anthony prioritized a bigger contract and role. And why wouldn’t he? A year after those discussions, Anthony led the Denver Nuggets to the 2009 Western Conference finals against the Lakers.
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“Carmelo has always been one of the toughest dudes in the world to play against because of his talent, size, strength, speed and shooting ability,” said Lakers forward Trevor Ariza, who played against Anthony during that 2009 playoff matchup. “Everything he brings to the table is just like a nightmare for a defender.”
Anthony’s career soon turned into a nightmare. He became frustrated with the Nuggets’ stagnant direction. So he demanded a trade during the 2010-2011 season. The Nuggets eventually traded Anthony to the New York Knicks, but the move depleted the Knicks of having any depth around him. So when Anthony became a free agent in 2014, he entertained various proposals from the Lakers, Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets.
Anthony ultimately stayed with the Knicks because they could offer more years (five) and money ($129.1 million) than any other team (four years, $95.9 million). Though it helped the Lakers’ cause that Anthony remained close friends with the late Kobe Bryant, it did not help the franchise faced a hefty rebuilding project while Bryant had just absorbed the second of his third consecutive season-ending injuries.
But when Anthony met with the Lakers’ basketball operations department, business side as well as television and marketing partners for 2 ½ hours, he still walked away impressed. Movie producer Joel Silver made a four-minute trailer of Anthony’s life, which Tobey Maguire narrated. Afterwards, Anthony admitted, “I wish I could get my hands on that.”
“It seems like throughout my whole career, I’ve always stayed connected with the Lakers someway or somehow,” Anthony said. “Whether it was through my brother, Kobe, regardless to what it is, I’ve always been connected somehow.”
Not enough to forge a partnership, though. Anthony and former Knicks president Phil Jackson soon had philosophical differences on which role each person played in the organization’s dysfunction. So, Anthony waived his no-trade clause in 2017, and the Knicks dealt him to Oklahoma City. With a team that featured Westbrook, Anthony and Paul George, the Thunder still lost to the Utah Jazz in six games in the first round of the playoffs. The Thunder then waived Anthony amid luxury tax concerns. The Houston Rockets signed him the following season only to waive him after 10 games.
During those times, Anthony fielded criticism for his reluctance to play as a reserve and evolve his high-volume mid-range shooting. But during his past two years in Portland, Anthony received rave reviews for accepting any role, remaining a scoring threat and becoming a willing defender. In turn, Anthony said he accepted the reduced role because Portland’s front office and coaching staff had direct conversations about it.
“I’m cool. Just be transparent with me,” Anthony said. “I was cool with that decision. I had never done it before. I had done it with USA before. I had done it briefly in Houston for a couple of games. But I had to figure out a way to motivate myself and keep myself going in a different position in a different role. So you’re playing for 15 to 17 years and you’re the guy and the starter, then all of a sudden, someone says, 'Listen, come off the bench.' I had to swallow that ego. I had to swallow that pride. But I also had to use that ego and that pride to keep me on edge and keep me motivated.”
It does not appear Anthony will need to swallow his ego and pride to keep himself motivated with the Lakers.
“I’m coming in with a championship on my mind,” Anthony said. “We all know this is the one thing that I’m missing. This is the one thing that keeps me up at night. It motivates me. I don’t have it. I want that experience.”
So, unlike in 2014, the Lakers did not need to host an elaborate free-agency meeting. Then, the Lakers talked about their championship history without the roster to back it up. They talked about the Lakers’ branding opportunities, though Anthony already had carved out his business portfolio already. And though they talked about the appeal with living in Los Angeles, Anthony already knew since he had owned a home there.
“There wasn’t really no pitch this time,” Anthony said. “It was more of an understanding. The time is now. The time is now for both parties to merge and both parties to come together.”
Both parties have come together during unique circumstances. Anthony (37), James (36), Ariza (36), Marc Gasol (36) and Dwight Howard (35) are all past their prime. Wayne Ellington (33), Westbrook (32) and Kent Bazemore (32) have just surpassed the 30-year mark. And the 28-year-old Davis has an injury-riddled history.
When a reporter relayed the ages of these players to Anthony, he interrupted quickly. “We don’t care!” Anthony said with a smile. “We make our own narrative.”
Part of that narrative entails showing why James and Anthony were better off waiting for their partnership until this season.
“If all of us would’ve come together earlier in our career, we probably wouldn’t have had the same understanding as we’re going to have right now,” Anthony said. “I think we’re all ready to take on whatever role that is that all of us need to feel we need to take on in order to reach that ultimate goal.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James talk Lakers 'Super Team'
