NBA 18/19: LeBron James believes Carmelo Anthony has been scapegoated

Carmelo Anthony was last month told by the Houston Rockets to find a new team. The 10-time All-Star played just 10 times for the 2018 Western Conference Finalists, and league executives speculated that Anthony's career could be over.

While a team has yet to register concrete interest in the former Knicks player, Melo has been heavily linked to the Los Angeles Lakers over the past 24 hours. LeBron James is said to have wanted the player to join him in LA, and it is worth noting that the Lakers signed JaVale McGee over the summer at the urging of James.

When asked about the prospect of the Lakers signing Melo, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith told 'First Take':

It's not that LeBron feels the Lakers need Carmelo Anthony, it's that LeBron, from what I was told, he was very upset and offended by how the situation had been handled in Houston with Anthony.

Smith is well known for his inside sources within the NBA and he went on to speculate why LeBron was now interested in bringing his 2003 draft classmate to Los Angeles.

Anyway that you slice it, LeBron believes Carmelo has been and stained, and as a result, he wanted to see what he could do (in LA).

Anthony and James have been two of the most dominant players in the NBA over the last decade, although the two close friends have never played on the same team. A move to the Lakers could reinvigorate Melo, and hopefully, he will be able to prove all his doubters wrong.

You can see Stephen A. Smith's full appearance on ESPN'S 'First Take' in the video below:

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