Golden State Warriors: Where would Carmelo Anthony be the biggest threat?

3. Portland Trailblazers

The Portland Trailblazers are interested in acquiring Anthony. They’ve made that explicitly clear. They’re using every means to try to get him to Portland.

C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard are actively and publicly recruiting him. There are conflicting reports about Anthony’s level of interest. For the sake of this argument, imagine that he waives his no-trade clause to join Rip City.

The Blazers have some combo of Maurice Harkless, Allen Crabbe, and Al-Farouq Aminu to put in a deal. They also have Meyers Leonard though they are, reportedly, having a hard time finding a team that wants him. Still, they have pieces that could be welcomed in New York. More importantly, they might be able to put together the sweetest deal for the Knicks.

How good would this team be? They’d be able to put points up in a hurry. But they wouldn’t be an instant top-three team in the Western Conference like McCollum declared.

Anthony’s arrival would not strengthen their depth or their defense, two facets of the game that they struggled in mightily. They would, most likely, lose depth in a trade for the perennial All-Star. Their starting lineup, however, would be much stronger and Terry Stotts could be more creative with how he rests his stars.

The Blazers could, in theory, rest Anthony and Lillard in the first quarter and start the second with them as McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic go to the bench. They could keep an All-Star caliber player on the floor at all times. Their offense would have weapons.

Over the course of a game, the Blazers would break you down. Their offense would become predictable at some point, though, as Anthony’s isolation style will, likely, go to Portland with him. The Blazers were 23rd in assists per game in the league and Anthony won’t make that number go up drastically.

Portland with Anthony would have a better offense yet their issues from last season will not be solved. They could land somewhere in the 4-6 range in the Western Conference. They could make it to the second round and if their chemistry really clicks by the time the postseason rolls around, they could potentially make a run at the Western Conference Finals.

Still, their threat level wouldn’t be too high.