NBA Rumors: Could Carmelo Anthony join Michael Jordan with Charlotte Hornets?
New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony has made it clear that winning is his top priority. That’s why most expect Anthony to become a free agent in July and meet with several teams with the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets seemingly being the most notable of the group.
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One intriguing option for Anthony could be Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets. Anthony has an endorsement deal with Jordan’s shoe company and may be impressed should he meet with Jordan in the offseason.
Rick Bonnell and Ben Weinrib of The Charlotte Observer wonder if Jordan could lure Anthony away from the Knicks.
"He has an early termination option that could make him unrestricted this summer. The questions abound: Would he want to be in Charlotte, particularly considering he’d take a significant pay cut by not re-signing with the New York Knicks? And Cllifford’s occasional concerns that the ball “sticks” (doesn’t move quickly enough) could only multiply with Melo around……Anthony supplies shooting the Hornets need and also supplies offense that the Hornets haven’t seen at small forward. He, Walker, and Jefferson all need the ball a lot, so it would be interesting to see how that trio would split touches."
Although it sounds crazy, the Hornets are in a much better position than the Knicks. With Walker and Jefferson, the Hornets would have three legitimate big time scoring threats to go with an excellent defense orchestrated by Steve Clifford. Plus, with that kind of roster, veterans could follow Anthony.
Of course, this seems like quite the long-shot.
Anthony put up 27.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game last season.