Once the Los Angeles Lakers made the stars align for a potential title run with the acquisition of Russell Westbrook, they put an emphasis on filling out the roster with like-minded veterans such as Carmelo Anthony.
Westbrook’s arrival has allowed the Lakers to once again bring in talented players at a bargain price in pursuit of a championship. However, there has been some concern regarding the overall age of this roster.
The 37-year-old Anthony is set to become the oldest player in L.A. just ahead of LeBron James, Trevor Ariza and Marc Gasol, who are each 36. The addition of 35-year-old Dwight Howard and Westbrook, who is 32, has brought the average age of the Lakers’ roster to 31.8 years.
Even if this group has been battling Father Time in recent years, Anthony pointed out that this does not apply as much as it used to thanks to advancements in modern training and overall experience.
“We don’t care! We don’t care. We make our own narrative,” Anthony said during his introductory press conference. “Different time, different game. Different style of game. More resources than guys had years ago when we first came into the game. I think just the concept and the seriousness behind taking care of yourself. We really understand what that means from a holistic standpoint. The mind, body and the soul. We’re there at that point in our career where we understand the importance of what it means to take care of your body, what it means to take care of your mind.
“In this situation, experience comes into play. Understanding one another. Whereas if all of us would’ve came together early on in our careers, we probably wouldn’t have had the same understanding as we’re going to have right now. I think we’re all ready to take on whatever role that is that all of us need to take on in order to reach that ultimate goal, which we all of us know what that is at this point, but I like it. I like when people talk about the age. It gives a better story. I’ll tell you that. It gives a better story. I think people forget that at the end of the day it’s about basketball. You got to know how to play basketball. You’ve got to know how to do it. You’ve got to have that experience. I think that’s what we bring at this point in time. Our talent, our skill, but also our experience.”
There is certainly plenty of truth to Anthony’s comments given how much more prevalent it is for athletes to pay top dollar in order to take care of their bodies.
Of course, health is a major concern for any team contending for a championship, regardless of age. Even if it does make for an intriguing storyline, only time will tell if this will ultimately be a factor.
Anthony on finally joining Lakers
There were certainly no shortage of links to the Purple and Gold considering their interest in landing his services through the years. Despite his status as one of the greatest players of his generation alongside James, the prospect of it ever coming to fruition was deemed too good to be true.
Anthony acknowledged the connection to the Lakers and felt the time was finally right to make it happen.
“Well I mean every year, as you know, there’s so much movement in the NBA. Nobody knows what’s gonna happen, one player is always connected with one organization somewhere whether they’re there or not. And it seems like just throughout my whole career, I’ve always been connected with the Lakers someway, somehow. Whether it was through my brother Kobe, regardless of what it is, I’ve always been connected to them someway, somehow,” Anthony said.
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