Carmelo Anthony said the New Orleans Pelicans once sent him a team jersey as part of a recruitment effort led by DeMarcus Cousins.
Anthony shared the story on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, recalling how serious the conversations became during Cousins’ time in New Orleans.
“I did have a Pelican jersey,” Anthony said, via HoopsHype. “I was a recruitment pitch. That was crazy.”
Cousins responded on the show, asking, “Did they send you that sh*t?”
Anthony replied, “Yeah, that was… that’s what I’m saying. This is real. Like, this was a conversation!”
The discussion turned to which uniform the franchise had shipped. Cousins asked, “They sent you, what, the Mardi Gras jersey?”
Anthony initially praised the design before clarifying the specific edition. “Fire,” he said. Later, he added: “Yeah, it was’ the Mardi Gras one. They sent me one… No, the red one. That’s the one. The red one.”
Cousins played for New Orleans from 2017 to 2018 after arriving in a trade from Sacramento. During that stretch, the organization attempted to build a contender around Cousins and All-Star forward Anthony Davis.
At the time, Anthony was one of the league’s premier scorers. A 10-time All-Star and former scoring champion, he averaged at least 21 points per game in each season from 2003-04 through 2016-17.
Pairing Anthony with Cousins and Davis would have created a frontcourt-heavy offense built on half-court scoring. Cousins’ ability to facilitate from the elbow and stretch to the perimeter could have complemented Anthony’s isolation game on the wing.
The Pelicans ultimately never completed a deal for the veteran scorer. Cousins suffered a torn Achilles in January 2018, which altered the franchise’s trajectory and roster-building plans.
Anthony continued his career with stops in Oklahoma City, Houston, Portland and Los Angeles before retiring. He finished with 28,289 career points, ranking among the top scorers in NBA history.
