Team No. 2: Brooklyn Nets
If the New York Knicks fall through the cracks, it’s difficult to not imagine the neighboring borough wouldn’t take their chance on at least considering a look into Anthony’s services.
At its root, it’s worth remembering: this isn’t necessarily just about who Anthony would consider, but also about what teams would be in position to offer the things that Anthony’s proven he cares about: financial security, an environment where he can play a major role, and at this point, probably winning.
The Brooklyn Nets effectively stood up the scoring-machine a season ago, opting to go instead for Lance Thomas. One month later, those ties were cut.
The obvious drawback is that there’s so much uncertainty about what the Nets superstar could do. There’s no telling whether Kyrie Irving will even be in the NBA a season from now. Kevin Durant could be the stabilizing force that mellows him out. And with Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie on the week-to-week trade monitor, Brooklyn will probably want proven scorers to appease their two superstars.
In whichever case, Anthony’s services have some sort of benefit. This year’s power forward spot has been run through the likes of either Rodions Kurucs, Taurean Waller-Prince, Wilson Chandler or Džanan Musa, who — maybe I haven’t watched gin enough — has one of the most overambitious shot selections for a role player in some time. Only Waller-Prince has anything close to a positive on-off swing.
We’ve already seen what friendship does in Brooklyn. It’s kept DeAndre Jordan in tow, almost matching Jarrett Allen minute-for-minute, which is odd in itself. Anthony provides the New York grit, and nearly ended up here last year. My hunch is that they will be a contender in the Anthony sweepstakes.