As many suspected, Carmelo Anthony’s decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason was sparked by one thing: a desire to claim his first NBA title.
Just like any move on a team led by “The King,” the Lakers’ pursuit of Anthony was sparked by none other than LeBron James
On Tuesday’s episode of NBA insider Chris Haynes’ podcast Posted Up, the 37-year-old veteran shared that he was surprised to get a call from James asking him to join the squad earlier this offseason.
While he was initially conflicted by the idea of spending time away from his family in New York, Anthony ultimately decided that the chance to claim an NBA championship alongside his longtime friend was too good to pass up.
“Winning,” Anthony said when asked about his driving force to head to LA. “Having a great chance to win. It took me some days to really sit down and break it down and really dig deep into making that decision. To most people, it probably would have been an easy decision. But for me, I really had to align a lot of things … for this to work out, for me to feel comfortable going out there and being away from fam for another year…People don’t understand that part of it. That’s the hard part. The basketball is easy.”
Anthony spent the last two seasons in Portland where he averaged 14.3 points per game. While he said he waited to hear interest from the Trail Blazers, a contract extension was never offered.
Before joining the Lakers, Anthony said he also received interest from the 76ers, Pelicans and Knicks.
Through 18 NBA seasons, Anthony has yet to get his ring. But now that he’s a member of the Lakers squad alongside Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and LeBron, the 10-time All Star is determined to get it done.
“If I didn’t go to the Lakers, it wasn’t something that was heavy on me,” Anthony said. “But now that I’m with the Lakers, it’s a must-have. There’s no questions about it. We gotta get it. By any means.”
The post Carmelo Anthony Had 1 Main Reason For Joining The Lakers appeared first on The Spun.
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