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Veteran Los Angeles Lakers recruit Carmelo Anthony says he is open to any role in the side as he strives for his first career NBA title.
The 37-year-old boasts a decorated CV, including being an NBA All-Star 10 times, but he is confident not being an automatic featured player for the Lakers this season.
Anthony moved from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Lakers over the off-season, having played 69 games last season, starting only three times.
“At this point, man, whatever we need to do, let’s do it,” Anthony said on Friday at the Lakers’ training camp.
“It ain’t … ‘I can’t sit,’ and, ‘Oh, I want to start,’ ‘I want to come off the bench.’ Whatever it is, it is.
“I’ve had experience being a starter for 18, 17 years and had an experience of coming off the bench for one year. It’s not something I think about.”
Russell Westbrook also joined the Lakers ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season which commences on October 17 for the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors.
There have numerous roster changes for the Lakers, meaning there is uncertainty about how the line-up head coach Frank Vogel deploys for the new season.
“When we spoke before he signed here, I told him that I envisioned a big role on this team,” Vogel said.
“I don’t know what that’s going to look like, whether he’s going to start, whether he’s going to come off the bench, but that he’s going to be a factor for us.”
Vogel confirmed Anthony along with Westbrook and LeBron James will all sit out Sunday’s pre-season opener against the Brooklyn Nets for rest.
Forward Anthony played a career-low 24.5 minutes per game last season for the Blazers, but had a career second-best three-point percentage of 40.9 per cent.
Anthony averaged 13.4 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game and 1.5 assists per game last season.
