NBA Rumors: One Team That's NOT Interested In Carmelo Anthony

Ten-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony is still out on the open market, after a successful season off the Los Angeles Lakers bench last year, shooting 37.5% from distance and providing 13.3 points per game. But despite recent rumors, there's one team that's said to have no interest in signing Melo, according to Brian Robb of MassLive:

Multiple league sources tell MassLive that the Celtics are not expected to have interest in bringing in the veteran for a signing ahead of training camp. That’s not to say the team is done shaping the roster ahead of the preseason but Anthony isn’t a priority at this point at names that could be brought in. Boston likes a lot of their internal replacement options from what I’ve heard and want to give those names the first crack at minutes.

Melo is rumored to be enamored with the Celtics as a landing spot.

However, it doesn't appear that the feeling is mutual. The theory is that it all comes down to the fact that the Celtics are a defense-first team, and that end of the floor is not exactly Anthony's forte. 

"Anthony did a respectable job turning into more of a role player during the last two seasons in LA and Portland," explained Robb, "but there’s a reason the Lakers (and everyone else) haven’t brought him in at this point. He’s 38 years old and his teams have been at the bottom of the league in defensive rating for the last three years with him playing big minutes."

The Celtics beat writer says he could see them putting in a call to Melo later in the season if he's still available, and "if they need some scoring punch off the bench."

But for now, the Celtics appear ready to give the opportunity to some of their young guys like Sam Hauser and some of the big men in camp.

Photos: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports