Carmelo Anthony to sign with Trail Blazers in NBA return, report says

Tom Gatto

Carmelo Anthony to sign with Trail Blazers in NBA return, report says image

Carmelo Anthony is returning to the NBA with the Trail Blazers, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday night.

Anthony has agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with Portland and will join the team during a road trip that begins Saturday in San Antonio, Wojnarowski added.

MORE: Porzingis booed loudly in return to MSG

The 35-year-old forward has been working to get back into the league ever since being waived last February by the Bulls, who had acquired him a trade with the Rockets. He recently expressed confidence that he would land with a team. 

Anthony will give Portland a scoring threat at power forward in the absence of the injured Zach Collins. Even in a diminished role the past two seasons, Anthony averaged 16.2 and 13.4 points, respectively. He is a career 24.0-point-per game scorer.

Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported that Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard is on board with the move. 

Two of Anthony's best buds, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, were also pleased to learn the news 

Portland has has struggled to a 4-8 record through its first 12 games.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.