Last week, Kyle Kuzma posted photos on social media of a workout with Carmelo Anthony. Later that same week, Anthony was on ESPN to speak about the difficulty he is currently going through as he hopes to prolong his NBA career which has seemingly stopped at a standstill since the future Hall of Famer was traded by the Houston Rockets (and promptly waived by the Chicago Bulls).
Kuzma recently spoke about those workouts and what he is learning from Anthony, one of the greatest scorers of all time, to the LA Times’ Arash Markazi:
“It’s been amazing working with Carmelo,” Kuzma said. “He’s one of the greatest players of all time and one of the best scorers of all time. Getting to learn little things from him that will hopefully help my game will be big for me this season.”
Kuzma has shown a strong propensity for scoring since entering the NBA and did so efficiently last year despite a disappointing 3-point shooting season.
Speaking more about Anthony, Kuzma proclaimed that the former Nuggets and Knicks star should be in the league although he will not pressure the Lakers to sign him:
“Melo is easily better than half the league right now,” Kuzma said. “There’s no question about it. He should be on a team right now. He’s still one of the best players. The slander people throw at him is something I don’t really understand. Maybe that’s just the way today’s society is right now.
“It would be great to see him in L.A., but I don’t make those decisions. That’s up to Rob [Pelinka] to make those decisions as far as what he thinks is best for the Lakers. He’s done a great job so far putting this team together.”
The claim that Anthony is better than half the league is certainly a bold one and probably not true. That said, talent is not the issue with Carmelo. The problem is that Anthony’s game has deteriorated with age but his playstyle has not changed to accommodate for it. He is the epitome of the superstar who cannot age gracefully into a different role and that is why he has not found a team since last November.
That said, NBA players, especially those like Kuzma who probably modeled their game after Anthony are always going to have a different feeling towards a basketball legend having the game pass them by. But NBA teams will always be wary of the type of player that Anthony is, which is why the Lakers have not signed him despite all the reports and the interest from Anthony.
