Carmelo Anthony told reporters on Sunday that the idea of playing with Kobe Bryant in no way swayed him against signing with the Lakers in free agency when he returned to New York this summer.
"Hell no. Of course not," Anthony said. "If I thought that [playing for the Lakers] was the right situation for me from an overall perspective as far as having a team there, then I would have looked at that situation more in-depth. I just felt more comfortable staying here in New York. But as far as playing with him ... I'm here now but I would always love to play with Kobe."
Anthony said that he and Bryant, whom he considers a good friend, had several conversations outside of the pitch meeting, but that he never felt pressured.
"He wasn't calling me every day and like, 'Get over here! I want you here!'" Anthony said. "We had conversations about different situations whether it was in New York or in L.A., but it wasn't to the point where it was non-stop calling or texting or stuff like that."
via Carmelo Anthony says he didn't rule out Los Angeles Lakers because of Kobe Bryant's presence - ESPN New York.
Anthony only met with the Lakers for a few hours, after spending a full day with the Bulls, a half-day with the Rockets, and a half-day with the Lakers, before meeting with the Knicks in LA and deciding to return (and get paid over $120 million). Anthony has long been friends with Bryant, and they share a similar outlook to the game, based on comfort level and high volume shooting.
Many had wondered if Anthony had signed there if there would have been enough shots to go around. But Anthony never seemed like the type to want to take over in LA. He's always seemed like he wants his shots and to win a title in a big market, but sharing it with Kobe is different than having to share it with, say, Jeremy Lin who he reportedly clashed with.
Still, Anthony can say he wanted to play with Bryant, but he didn't. He can deny the conflict, and he's probably being honest, but he also can't provide much in terms of proof that stars want to sign there. They haven't, and the one they traded for, Dwight Howard, left. It takes a special beta-type player like Pau Gasol, and that combination of attitude and talent just doesn't come along very often. We touched on the various comments from league executives in regards to Bryant after the ESPN the Magazine article was published this week.