BROOKLYN — LeBron James wants to play with Carmelo Anthony this season. He came right out and said so … with only the slightest hedge.
“We’ll see. I don’t run the team,” James said Tuesday night after the Lakers fell to the Brooklyn Nets 115-110. “There are obviously things that need to be worked out on both sides. But I’ve always wanted to play with ‘Melo, and if the opportunity presents, itself, it’ll be great. So we’ll see what happens.”
The money part of that quote is contained in three words: “It’ll be great.”
LeBron is a player who often ducks serious questions, but if you catch him at the right moment — such as being forced to answer another question about his son, LeBron James Jr., he’ll sometimes speak from the heart.
This was one of those instances.
👀 LeBron on the possibility of teaming up with Carmelo Anthony: “I’ve always wanted to play alongside Melo. And if the opportunity presents itself, it’d be great.”
📷: @kylegoon pic.twitter.com/6KjlsO8Tob
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) December 19, 2018
Another instance of LeBron speaking from the heart happened a day earlier when he told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com that playing with Anthony Davis would be “amazing.”
“Like, duh. That would be incredible,” James told McMenamin in a story that went viral.
Related: LAKERS OR CELTICS THE NEXT DESTINATION FOR ANTHONY DAVIS?
The Lakers are now a pedestrian 18-13 in the loaded Western Conference, and two key players — Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram — are on the road to coming back after practicing earlier Tuesday in El Segundo, Calif. with the Lakers’ G-League affiliate.
But as noted time and time again on this site, in podcasts and in columns, what the Lakers look like today and what the Lakers look like on March 1 when playoff rosters are set are two entirely different things.
The Lakers are loaded with experienced players on expiring, one-year contracts and young players whose trade value is high, including but not limited to Kyle Kuzma, Ingram and Lonzo Ball.
If we learned one thing about LeBron last year, it was that he can take just about any cast of characters to an NBA Finals. He did it with a Cleveland Cavaliers team that was reassembled at the trade deadline as Cavs GM Koby Altman turned over more than half of the Cleveland roster.
Of course, that was in the Leastern Conference, and the Western Conference this season includes 14 teams in playoff contention at this juncture of the season, with only one outlier — the Phoenix Suns — playing for ping-pong balls.
But forget the notion that the Lakers braintrust of Kobe Bryant, Rob Pelinka, Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson are going to stand pat with the current roster and keep their fingers crossed. A large percentage of the NBA player population not named Kyrie Irving or Isaiah Thomas would welcome the opportunity to be wearing Purple and Gold by the time March 1 rolls around and playoff eligibility is finalized.
An exception to that rule is Americans (Darius Adams, Jared Sullinger, Pierre Jackson, Joe Young, Brandon Bass, Courtney Fortson) and other ex-NBAers (Donatas Montejunas and Luis Scola among them) currently playing in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Those players will become available at no cost, so the notion that the Lakers need to make changes solely through trades is unfounded. Buyouts happen after the Feb. 7 trade deadline passes, and it behooves the Lakers braintrust to stay patient, see what opportunities present themselves, and not sacrifice too much youth for what may be merely a short-term solution.
We already know that James and Anthony had dinner together Monday night in Manhattan, thanks to TMZSports and its army of paparazzi.
Now we have a good idea that they probably discussed some way to have “things worked out on both sides,” as LeBron said.
Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, did not return a call seeking comment. It should be noted that Anthony technically remains a member of the Houston Rockets. He would have to be waived or traded in order for Anthony to be reunited with James (they have a long history of playing together on Team USA), and there is a guy in Houston named Daryl Morey who could complicate the situation.
To be continued.
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