Trail Blazers: 3 reasons why signing Carmelo Anthony was a smart move

3. More likely to tip the scales

Look at the list of names still available in free agency. Joakim Noah. Joe Johnson. J.R. Smith. All of these guys are all maybe still capable of consistently contributing to a contender. And that’s a big maybe. But at their absolute peaks, none can change the landscape of a game the way Carmelo can.

He has the ability to absolutely shoot the lights out on any given occasion. In his ten game stint with Houston last year, he piled on three 20+ point performances, and finished a fourth with 17 points. In those four games, he shot 34-for-61 from the field (55.7 percent), clearly demonstrating he can still get buckets even in a perceived down year.

Hopefully, this time away from the game has given Anthony a reality check. He will need to adapt his mentality and style of play if he wants to keep playing professional basketball. In a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith on First Take, Carmelo expressed he’s willing to take these steps to remain in the league and hopefully win a championship.

With a disastrous 4-8 start to their season, it’s not at all unreasonable for the Portland Trail Blazers to take a swing for the fences and see if this thing works out. Their other offseason additions are also clearly struggling, so why not give Carmelo a chance to see if he can outwork them?

As he said himself, are we really going to try to sit here and convince ourselves Carmelo Anthony isn’t good enough for a 15-man rotation in the NBA. Are there 450 players in the league better than Carmelo? I think not.

And after the way this season has started, I’m not even sure if there’s 15 better players on the Portland Trail Blazers. We needed a change. Carmelo is willing to bring it. Grab your popcorn and let’s see how this plays out.