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It appears LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony will not become teammates after all.
At least, not now.
The Lakers and Carmelo have paused discussions about a possible contract because of Los Angeles' recent slide in the standings, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Entering Monday's action, the Lakers are in 10th place in the Western Conference -- 1.5 games behind the ninth-place Kings, 4.5 games behind the No. 8 Spurs and 14 games clear of the first-place Warriors.
As Woj writes:
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.
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Carmelo began the season with Houston, but the Rockets elected to part ways with the 10-time All-Star in mid-November.
In late January, he was traded to the Bulls and then waived about a week later.
[RELATED: NBA rumors: Warriors 'intend to sign' Andrew Bogut for rest of season]
Here's one question for you to think about: With the Lakers' playoff hopes in serious trouble, wouldn't they want to sign Carmelo immediately if they felt he could legitimately help them make a run? Since talks have been tabled, this must mean the franchise doesn't think he can really help all that much? Seems kinda...
...odd.
In any event, it's up in the air whether Carmelo will take the floor when Golden State faces the Lakers at Staples Center on April 4.
