Portland Trail Blazers: Is Carmelo Anthony a viable option moving forward?

The Portland Trail Blazers are going to start getting some of their players back from injury. It is time to look if Carmelo Anthony is a viable option

The Portland Trail Blazers turned to Carmelo Anthony in a time of need, signing him after just 14 games and a disappointing 5-9 start. They have been plagued by injuries all season, but the one which is pertinent to this article happened in the third game of the season.

Zach Collins went off with what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder. Unfortunately for the Blazers, the injury was worse than originally thought and Collins hasn’t played since.

The Trail Blazers were 2-1 with Collins in the lineup. In the next 11 games, they had a 3-8 record which put them at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with a 35.7 winning percentage. Take out the three Collins games and this winning percentage drops to 27.2.

Since signing Anthony, the Blazers have gone 18-23 which is good for a 43.9 winning percentage. In this time, Anthony has averaged 15.2 points, 6.6 rebounds,1.5 assists, and 0.8 steals. He has shot the ball well with a slash line of 41.2/35.0/84.5.

These numbers are impressive for a player who is 35 and was supposedly washed up after his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets. Anthony still has more to give, but with Collins coming back, Portland may need to make a decision.

Collins fits the timeline of the Blazers in a way that Anthony does not. Collins is just 22 years old and is starting to come into his own. His scoring average has increased all three years he has been in the league from 4.4 to 9.0 points per game this season.

This year may not be the best sample size. Collins was starting this season and as a result, his numbers should increase exponentially. However, this growth will probably happen next season. Collins is going to be a good complementary piece as the Blazers push for the postseason.

He would be well placed to start again next season alongside Trevor Ariza, assuming that the Blazers guarantee Ariza’s contract for next season. Given the way he is playing, there would appear to be no reason not to.

This would give the Blazers a starting lineup of Jusuf Nurkic, Collins, Ariza, CJ McCollum, and Damian Lillard.  While this assumes that the Blazers don’t re-sign Hassan Whiteside and trade Nurkic, this lineup would compete with anyone in the league.

This leaves Nassir Little, Rodney Hood, Anfernee Simons, Mario Hezonja and Gary Trent coming off the bench. This is a solid ten-man rotation with the possibility of re-signing Caleb Swanigan who would be a low-cost option for a team that is already sitting just under $110 million in committed salaries for next season.

For Anthony to be a viable option, he is going to have to sign on at almost the veteran’s minimum. He will also need to accept that his role is going to be much smaller and not as a starter. He will be 36 next season and while he can still score, but he is slowing down.

Anthony is a career 44.8 percent shooter from the field. He has not been able to reach that number since the 2013-14 season, barely making it over 40.0 percent in the last two stops in his long career.

Conversely, he is shooting better from deep the later he gets in his career. He has bettered his career average of 34.7 percent in three of his last four years. The only season he missed out was the 10 games he played in Houston in 2018-19.

Anthony can be a viable floor spacing bench piece for a franchise with the potential to be anything next season. The Portland Trail Blazers took a chance on Carmelo Anthony. Next season, Carmelo Anthony needs to take a chance on the Portland Trail Blazers. Good things may happen for all involved.