Before Carmelo Anthony ended up a member of the New York Knicks last season there was plenty of speculation that he might actually be headed to sunny, southern California. Rumors were swirling that Anthony might join the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade involving center Andrew Bynum. However, that trade never materialized and Anthony was shipped to the Big Apple.
Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant recently discussed the possibility of playing with Anthony, and said it was something he would enjoy doing.
“I would actually like to play with Melo. Championships are won on the inside and I’m always thinking about winning the title. I would love to play with Melo because I would know that I have an inside presence. That’s really been the biggest strength with our Lakers team. We have a lot of guys who can play in the post, and that’s how you win championships. I can post, Lamar [Odom] can post, Ron [Artest] can post, Pau [Gasol] can post and Andrew [Bynum] can post. Teams are usually lucky if they have one guy that can control the block. But yeah, I would love to play with Melo.”
The words are certainly flattering, but would Bryant and Anthony really work on the same team? Back when the trade was being discussed last season many of the experts noted that the Lakers would actually be worse off with Anthony compared to Bynum. Plus, Bynum provided the Lakers with two seven-foot post players, which gave them a distinct advantage over almost every other team.
Regardless, with Bryant locked up in L.A. and Anthony expected to remain in New York for the foreseeable future, it seems the only time these two will get to play on the same team is if they both play for Team USA in the Olympics next summer.