LOS ANGELES — Free-agent forward Carmelo Anthony agreed terms with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Anthony's manager, Bay Frazier, told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Frazier, the deal - one of several inked by the Lakers on Tuesday - is for one season. Anthony's agent, CAA Sports' Aaron Mintz, completed a settlement with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka on Tuesday.
10 on the NBA's career scoring list last season, Anthony rehabilitated his career over two seasons at Portland after being out of the league for a year following an unfortunate stint with the Houston Rockets.
The 18-year-old veteran flourished in a bench role with the Blazers last season, averaging 13.4 points per 24.5 minutes per game, while shooting a career-best 40.9% from 3.
Anthony, 37, entered the league with LeBron James in the famous 2003 draft class, and the two maintain a close friendship.
Anthony has earned a salary of over $260 million in his career and is a 10-time All-Star, a six-time All-NBA selection, and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. However, he was not successful on the stage after the season. In 13 career playoff appearances, Anthony's teams have made the conference finals only once, and he has yet to play in the NBA Finals.
After being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder by the New York Knicks in 2017, Anthony had a rough season with the Thunder as the team failed to live up to expectations. He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks the following season, then was promptly pardoned.
He signed with the Rockets, agreeing to take a long-anticipated bench role for the Contenders led by James Harden and Chris Paul, but was waived after just 10 games. Anthony was not signed by any other team that season, casting doubt on the future of his NBA career.
But the Blazers offered a lifeline, and Anthony accepted the role and opportunity to contribute to the Western Conference playoff team. He started all 58 games in his first season with Portland as it suffered a series of injuries, but he fell off the bench in 66 of 69 last season.
A definite future Hall of Famer, Anthony currently sits on 27,370 points, just 39 points behind Moses Malone for ninth.
He won the title with the Knicks in 2012–13 scoring an average of 28.7 points. Anthony spent 10 consecutive seasons in the top 10 in scoring and finished as runner-up for the scoring title twice in that stretch.
The Lakers also agreed Tuesday with banned free agent Tallen Horton-Tucker for a three-year, $32 million deal to stay with the team, their agents, Clutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and Lucas Newton, told Wojnarowski.
Horton-Tucker is a key player for the Lakers – a 20-year-old rising talent with a penchant for scoring.
A second-round pick by LA in 2019, Horton-Tucker averaged 9.0 points on 45.8% shooting with 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals in more than 20 minutes per game last season.
The Lakers agreed terms with Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk on Tuesday, sources told Wojnarowski.
A source told Wojnarowski that the nuns agreed to a two-year deal with the Lakers that includes a player option. The source said that Nunn turned down significantly more money to pursue a title in Los Angeles.
Nunn, who turns 26 on Tuesday, followed up a solid second year with a strong rookie season in which he averaged 14.6 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for the Miami Heat.
Monk, 22, enjoyed a breakout fourth season with the Charlotte Hornets as he averaged 11.7 points per game and shot a career-high 40.1% from 3-point range last season.
The Hornets did not make Monk a merit offer, which made him a free agent.
The Lakers have been busy this season, previously agreeing to a trade with the Washington Wizards for 32-year-old Russell Westbrook.
According to the Alias Sports Bureau, they have now added six players aged 32 or older — Anthony, Westbrook, Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza and Kent Bezmore — the most in a single off-season in NBA history.
The Lakers currently have 12 players (including free agent takeovers), and their average age at the start of the regular season would be 31 years, 302 days (or 31.83). Per Elias, the oldest team in NBA history without playing time is the 1997–98 Knicks (31.76); The oldest team weighted for playing time is the 2000–01 Jazz (32.6).