The Lakers Are So Toxic Right Now That Carmelo Anthony Would Rather Stay Home

In January, after the Rockets finally accepted that they couldn’t get any money for Carmelo Anthony at the consignment store and just left him on the curb instead, it seemed likely that he’d head to Los Angeles to link up with his chum LeBron James. The Lakers looked on track for the playoffs, and the only obstacle keeping the two pals from finally playing together was the team’s oversized pre-trade deadline roster.

LeBron’s team now has a new hurdle between them and signing Melo: they spent the weekend doing this against the worst team in the NBA.

The Lakers have now lost to the Suns, Grizzlies, and Pelicans in the past week or so, and they’re 4.5 games out of the playoffs. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Anthony is now unsure about going to Los Angeles, because of how dreary and checked-out the team has become:

The Lakers had been leaning toward signing Anthony for the rest of the season — until losses in four of the past five games left the organization and Anthony’s camp wondering if it made sense to bring the veteran into an unsettled environment with suddenly so little chance of making the playoffs, league sources said.

This is a new low. When Carmelo Anthony, the 34-but-really-64-year-old free agent who looked ready to retire at the start of the season, is considering other options ... woof.