Carmelo Anthony returning to the NBA has been one of the most noteworthy headlines of the young NBA season and rightfully so. After being out of basketball for more than a year, Anthony returned and has made an instant impact for the struggling Portland Trail Blazers.
After starting the season off 5-12, the Blazers have won four of their past five matchups and Anthony even secured player of the week honors in the Western Conference. Now with his play being much more solid than everyone expected, the Blazers are fully guaranteeing Anthony’s contract for the remainder of the season according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Anthony signed a non-guaranteed contract with Portland on Nov. 15.
The Trail Blazers will amend Carmelo Anthony’s contract so that it becomes fully guaranteed for the remainder of the season, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 6, 2019
Since joining Portland, Anthony has averaged 16.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. While those numbers aren’t eye-popping by any stretch of the imagination, his performance has still been much better than most anticipated.
Anthony came in and immediately addressed the Blazers’ most glaring shortcoming: the forward position. The position was already weak over the past few years, then they lost starters Moe Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu to free agency and Zach Collins is also sidelined for multiple months with a shoulder injury.
While the Blazers aren’t immediately considered contenders now, they should be able to make a run for the postseason if Anthony continues to provide valuable contributions. Hopefully for Anthony, he’s found a new team he can call home for not only this season but beyond.
