2. Carmelo Anthony
The Los Angeles Lakers went the route of bringing in veteran after veteran last season and it did not work. This offseason, the front office has taken a different approach as everyone the team signed in free agency was under 30 with several under 25.
That does not mean that the team should avoid veterans altogether and at this point, reuniting with Carmelo Anthony is not the worst idea in the world. Perhaps this has been the plan all along: see what happens with a Westbrook trade and then bring Melo back if there is an open roster spot.
Carmelo does not help with the defense (that is obvious) but he adds a much-needed three-point shooting dynamic to the team. The Lakers are horrible at three-point shooting and Melo would instantly be the best off-ball shooter the team has on the roster.
The Lakers won games last season because of scoring outbursts by Melo off of the bench last season and the same could be said next season. He might be someone who gets played out of a playoff rotation but at the end of the day, Anthony adds quality depth for the regular season.
The team already added one former Laker late in free agency, who is to say that they won’t add another in Carmelo?