Portland Trail Blazers: 5 free agency destinations for Carmelo Anthony

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers hug before the start of Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 29, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

3 of 6

Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

Carmelo Anthony destination #2 – Atlanta Hawks

Similar to the Hornets, the Atlanta Hawks need a veteran presence in their locker room as they look to build around their young core. They know who they have in budding superstar Trae Young, but their trove of lottery picks are yet to show who is the number two behind Trae.

The Hawks need another year or two to figure out who they have in the wings of Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter and Kevin Huerter.

With seven-year big man De’Wayne Dedmon on the team as their only veteran, they need to add NBA experience to help develop their exciting core.

They also need secondary shot creation badly.

This is where Melo could come in. Their only real power forward is John Collins, an athletic dunker whose shooting game is slowly coming on. Melo could split minutes with Collins, who also plays the five. They also have defensive presences in Clint Capela and Dedmon, who could fit nicely at the five next to Melo.

The Hawks have $46 million in cap space too. This is a positive for them, but they also don’t want to overpay in a free agent market devoid of strong players. Atlanta isn’t an attractive free-agent destination anyway, so one-year deals make sense while the front office figures things out.

Melo could play the four and help with shot creation. Playing off the mercurial Young, he could be the perfect spot-up threat in the corners.

The Hawks have to spend their cap-space, so a single year could work at around $8 million.