Los Angeles Lakers: Carmelo Anthony wanted to play with LeBron James

Carmelo Anthony is finally back in the NBA after a lengthy absence. Recently, he talked about his desire to play with the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James.

With the Los Angeles Lakers cruising in the Western Conference with a 19-3 record, they will be getting ready for another tough road game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers were one of the best teams in the Western Conference last season, but they got off to a slow start. With a lot of injuries, the Trail Blazers shocked many by signing Carmelo Anthony.

At one time, Anthony was one of the best scorers in the NBA. With an ability to score 25+ a night, Anthony has had a very good career. However, that career looked like it was done after he and the Houston Rockets split.

Anthony never got back on a team last season, and he went unsigned this summer as well. However, despite it not looking likely for a while, Anthony is back in the NBA. Recently, Anthony spoke with Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN about his desire to play with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers prior to signing with Portland.

"“There were a lot of teams that I thought I was going to be on,” Anthony said. “As far as LeBron goes, it’s something we’ve talked about since we were in high school. It wasn’t in his power. Some people might say it was in his power. But it’s not something that I was calling him and talking to him about, asking him, ‘Can you do this for me?’ [But] I would’ve never put him in that position because a lot of times it’s deeper than that, and I started understanding the business of basketball.”"

Anthony and the Lakers certainly seemed to be linked a lot within the last year. When injuries hit the Lakers hard last season, Anthony’s name was frequently brought up. Even this summer when the Lakers were looking to fill out the roster with cheap veterans, Anthony was still available.

As Anthony mentioned, he and LeBron have wanted to play together for their entire careers. However, that has yet to come to fruition.

On Friday night, the Lakers and the Trail Blazers will be squaring off. This means that James and Anthony will be opposing each other, which is something they have been doing since high school.

Anthony has really helped spark the Trail Blazers with his level of play, as they have won three of their last four games. This will surely be a fun game to watch as two good friends in LeBron and Carmelo battle once again.