Lakers sign Melo, finally uniting him with LeBron

Wizards

Lakers sign Melo, finally uniting him with LeBron

The Lakers are apparently collecting future Hall of Famers this offseason. After trading for Russell Westbrook and signing Dwight Howard in free agency, they have now agreed to sign Carmelo Anthony, per a report from ESPN.

That will put Anthony on the same team as LeBron James, his longtime good friend and fellow member of the vaunted 2003 NBA Draft class. Anthony, 37, and James, 36, have been teammates in All-Star games and the Olympics, but never on an NBA team.

That will change soon as they each enter their 19th NBA season. Anthony comes over from the Blazers where he averaged 13.4 points per game last season while shooting a career-best 40.9% from three (4.7 3PA/g). He can help the Lakers add some much-needed space to their offense.

RELATED: Five players the Wizards could sign with the MLE

The Lakers won the championship two seasons ago, but last season were bounced in the first round largely due to injuries to James and Anthony Davis. Now they are loading up on veterans in a way reminiscent to some Lakers teams of the past.

In the early 2003, after winning three titles, they brought in Gary Payton and Karl Malone. In 2012, after winning two more rings with Kobe Bryant, they acquired Howard and Steve Nash. So, Howard has been down this road before.

Howard, though, was also on the championship team in 2020. He left for one season to play for the Sixers before returning, now for his third stint, with a chance to win a second ring.

Will it work? History shows there is no guarantee. But it should be entertaining, one way or another.