Carmelo Anthony’s time in Portland is over, but the future Hall of Famer had a special message to deliver on his way out to Los Angeles.
Anthony, who signed a one-year deal with the Lakers in free agency on Tuesday, thanked the city of Portland for helping him re-gain his love of basketball once more.
“Portland, all I can say is thank you,” he wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for letting me love the game of basketball again. Thank you for welcoming me into your community, and supporting me both on the court and in your city. These two years were some of the most important ones of my career, and for that I’ll always be grateful. #STAYME7O @trailblazers”
Blazers superstar Damian Lillard jokingly commented on Anthony’s farewell post with, “Off the property Bruv,” meaning, see you later.
Anthony’s NBA career is one of the most prolific in league history, but it hit a sharp turn in 2018. The 10-time All-Star was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks in July before the Hawks released him to clear the path for him to sign with the Houston Rockets. The Rockets gave Anthony a reduced role and he parted ways with the team after just 10 games. He was traded again to Chicago before being waived yet another time.
After his disastrous tenure in Houston, Anthony was out of the league for a period of time, where he has said he was close to retiring at one point.
The Blazers signed Anthony as a free agent in 2019 and it paid huge dividends for the 37-year-old. He showed off his killer shooting form that made him a superstar for years and played a key role for the Blazers while in the NBA bubble. Anthony ended up re-signing with the Blazers in 2020, where he has continued to spend the last two seasons of his career contributing to Portland as a shooter off the bench and veteran presence.
“With me, I just need you to be honest with me, just be up front with me,” Anthony said in February about negotiations with the Blazers. “Just be open with me and let’s have an open dialogue, let’s see what we can come to a middle ground on and what can work and what can’t work. And if it can’t work, I appreciate you guys giving me the opportunity to come back and get into this game and find my love again. But that wasn’t the case, now I’m here and it’s continuing to go well.”
During his time in Portland, Anthony averaged 14.3 points per game for the Blazers while shooting 43% from the field and 40% from deep. He moved up to No. 10 on the NBA’s all-time career scoring list in May.
— Aron Yohannes
