As the 2019-20 NBA season approaches, Carmelo Anthony remains unsigned.
As a result, one former NBA player has criticized LeBron James with Royce White pointing to Anthony not being a member of the Los Angeles Lakers as proof that he's being "blackballed" from the league.
"While a guy like LeBron is walking around here like he’s the face and voice of the players, how is he letting his banana-boat brother hang out there in the wings?" White told Fanatics View. "And they go sign Jared Dudley and not Carmelo? If anybody watching this thinks that Jared Dudley can hold Carmelo’s jockstrap, I’ll slap him.”
According to one of James' formers teammates, however, the 4-time MVP may not be as powerful as White seems to think.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Kendrick Perkins addressed White's comments after they were retweeted by Los Angeles Clippers point guard Patrick Beverly. In doing so, Perkins revealed that James requested the Cleveland Cavaliers trade for Anthony, but the team ultimately told him "no."
This isn't the first time the Cavs' previous interest in acquiring Anthony has been speculated about.
Cleveland was linked to the 10-time All-Star in the lead up to the NBA Trade Deadline in both 2016 and 2017 when Anthony was still a member of the New York Knicks. Neither time, however, did a deal come to fruition.
As for the instance Perkins is talking about, it's possible -- if not likely -- he's referring to the 2017 offseason. As James was entering what would be his final season with the Cavs, Perkins was a member of Cleveland's offseason roster before ultimately signing with the team on a full-time basis ahead of its run to the 2018 NBA Finals.
Speaking to SiriusXM in September 2017, Anthony revealed he -- as well as Paul George -- was nearly traded to the Cavs a few months prior, although the deal ultimately fell apart.
"It was funny because me and PG was supposed to be in Cleveland on draft night," said Anthony, who was ultimately traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "We were communicating about that. The deal was actually done and it got called off on draft night."
Nearly two years later, we now have a clearer idea of why that might have happened.