NBA Rumors: Lakers making Carmelo a priority?

The Lakers possible pursuit of soon-to-be free agent Carmelo Anthony has been one of the more controversial topics among the purple and gold fanbase. For better or worse, the Lakers seem determined to make signing Anthony a priority, according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

"Anthony will exercise the Early Termination Option on his contract later this month, becoming an immediate priority target for several teams, including Chicago, Houston, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers."

The Lakers have the cap space to offer one max contract, and Anthony is likely to be the biggest star on the free agency market. However, the flags have been raised as to whether Melo and Kobe Bryant could coexist or if Melo could carry a franchise after Bryant. His defensive shortcomings are well-documented as well and would be put under the microscope even more on a roster with Bryant.

What is known, however, is that Bryant and Melo are friends. Melo has the star power that the Lakers will be lacking after Bryant’s retirement. And Melo will draw more superstars to LA.

The Lakers intentions, still, remain unclear other than rumors. Obviously, they don’t have a coach in place and have hardly advanced the search process past the initial stages. With the draft looming and free agency coming immediately after, the idea that the Lakers are holding out on a coach to use it as a recruiting pitch for free agents is gaining legitimacy.

Would Carmelo be successful as a Laker?