After the first wave of free agency, the NBA transaction period essentially went quiet as everyone waited to see what the Brooklyn Nets would do with Kevin Durant after the superstar requested a trade.
But ultimately, after weeks of trade talks and negotiations, Durant won’t be going anywhere as the Nets announced that they came to an agreement and he and Kyrie Irving will be remaining with the team for the 2022-23 season.
Now that Durant’s situation is settled again, the remaining free agents can start to find homes with a number of teams still having open roster spots.
Among the remaining free agents are veterans that played for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-22 such as Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington, Avery Bradley and Trevor Ariza.
Anthony perhaps had the best season of that bunch with the Lakers and has expressed a desire to continue playing. While the odds of the Lakers re-signing him are low, there are other teams that have expressed interest in Anthony.
One is the Nets themselves as they have a number of available roster spots. According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, Durant has been advocating for the Nets to sign his former Team USA teammate:
But with DayRon Sharpe the only other 5 on the roster, it wouldn’t be a shock to see them look for a backup/competition for Claxton. And if they wanted to appease Durant, they could bring in Carmelo Anthony, a move he’s wanted them to make.
The Nets have also been linked to Howard in recent weeks, who is another veteran that can play a role off the bench for Brooklyn. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype though, the Nets don’t have interest in bringing in Anthony or Howard despite Durant’s desires:
Despite separate reports about the Nets considering Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony as free agent additions, Brooklyn doesn’t have interest in adding either veteran currently, HoopsHype has learned.
It’s possible things can change, but if Brooklyn really isn’t interested in Anthony and Howard then it remains to be seen where either will end up.
The one thing that has evaded Anthony in his NBA career is winning a championship, so it would be reasonable to think he is prioritizing signing with a contender this offseason to help him get over the hump.
Green chooses Anthony over Durant as scorer
While Anthony’s career has reached its final stages, there’s no denying how great he’s been as a scorer, especially when he was in his prime.
Was he a better scorer than Durant though?
That’s a tough question to answer since both are so great at putting the ball in the bucket. During a recent podcast though, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green made the controversial choice of Anthony over Durant as a scorer.
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