Carmelo Anthony entered the NBA back in 2003 along with his friend and now teammate LeBron James. The 37-year-old forward spent many years in the league and is at a late stage of his career.
According to Lakers head coach Frank Vogel, Melo’s role on the team is yet to be determined, but he is certain that the veteran will be a factor for his new team. Anthony was asked to share his own thoughts on what role he sees himself playing for the Lakers.
“I’m just playing ball, man,” he said. “My role was told to me to come here and do what I do best and play basketball and help us win and do what I got to do. That’s my role, that’s what I’m going to take. I’m here to bring positive energy to this team. I’m here to keep everybody together. I’m here to be that guy when things go south, I’m here to correct that.
“But also here to play and bring my game and, like I said, do what I do best and I think that’s what my teammates is looking forward to from me personally.”
Last season was Anthony’s first when he was coming off the bench almost the entire year — he started just 3 out of 69 games that he played for the Trail Blazers.
When speaking specifically about starting or coming off the bench for the Lakers, the 10-time NBA All-Star was open to either possibility. “I don’t know, man,” he said. “I had to adjust to that last year. I adjusted to it. It was cool after I got my feet wet and understood what my role was going to be on that team. It’s the same here.
“With this team I kind of look at it like the USA team in a sense. There’s so much talent. You got to figure out what works together, what doesn’t work together, how it works together, how it all comes together.
“And again, at this point whatever we need to do, let’s do it. It ain’t like I can’t sit and and be like ‘I want to start, I want to come up the bench.’ Whatever it is, it is. I’ve had experience being a starter for 17 years and had experience of coming off the bench for year. It’s not something I think about.”
