Carmelo Anthony is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and fans could not be any happier. Throughout his career, fans were begging for Melo to link up with LeBron James and now it's finally going to happen. The Lakers are loaded with talent this year and while the team has a high average age, there is no doubt that these players have all of the experience in the world when it comes to winning basketball games.
Last season, Melo had to deal with being a bench player for the first time in his career although he handled it with grace. It was certainly an adjustment for the star player, but at the end of the day, he just wanted to help his team win games. According to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Melo is bringing that exact same mentality to the purple and gold.
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Per Melo:
“I had to swallow that pride. But I also had to use that ego and that pride to keep me on edge and keep me motivated. And I’ve accepted that. It played out well in Portland. [...] Again, that was my first time doing it and experiencing that at that level. But I enjoyed it. It was fun, it was basketball, and I was still able to do my thing and play ball and have fun and have the love for the game again. So, I don’t know what’s going to happen [with the Lakers], you know what I’m saying? I just know I’m prepared, like I’m ready, you know what I’m saying? I’m ready to go play basketball. I know what’s at stake here and I’m totally locked.”
LeBron and Melo have played together on numerous occasions for Team USA, so they will already have some solid chemistry heading into the season. While many expect this team to crash and burn once the playoffs start, Melo seems motivated to finally get that championship ring.
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[Via]