3 questions for the Portland Trail Blazers if the season is over

Do they bring back Carmelo Anthony?

As much as fans have enjoyed the Carmelo Anthony renaissance in Portland, there are questions about whether or not he can truly impact winning at this stage of his career.

After being cut by the Houston Rockets after just 12 games last year, the 10-time All-Star spent the rest of the season at home preparing to join a playoff contender. But when the right opportunity never came, he spent the offseason waiting for his next NBA stop.

Eventually, that opportunity arose in Portland, once Collins went down with injury. The Trail Blazers were beaten down and in need of a starting power forward. And in 50 games this season he’s played better than expected: 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds nightly on a 42/37/84 shooting split.

But as the ramifications of the upcoming year grow larger and larger for Portland, they’ll have to navigate free agency surgically and strategically. The one thing going in both Anthony and the Blazers’ favor is that he’s past the point of his career where he’s expecting a big payday.

Portland could simply sign the 17-year veteran for any one-year minimum or exception, he’s had a lengthy career and made quite a salary since entering the league in 2003. It helps that Anthony and the Blazers hold a similar goal in competing for a championship.

Come the summer the two sides will have to agree on whether or not they’ll be doing that together, or on opposite sides of the hardwood.