Golden State Warriors: How could the team use Carmelo Anthony?

With Carmelo Anthony still a free agent, it is looking less and less likely he will actually get signed by an NBA team before the season starts. But could the Golden State Warriors actually find a use for him?

Some Golden State Warriors fans have suggested that they sign him, in a move that would echo the signing of DeMarcus Cousins last year.

However, everyone has questioned how Carmelo Anthony could ever fit in with a team like the Warriors. The Warriors like to play switchable wings who can guard multiple positions. Anthony can barely guard players at his own position, let alone anyone else.

He would also need to adapt to a fast-paced offense with lots of ball and player movement. This is something he’s struggled with in the past, particularly from his days in New York under Mike D’Antoni. He is known for being a ‘ball-stopper’ and disrupting the flow of the offense.

Anthony has a lot of faults but there are certain areas where he is an effective player. Some of these aspects could even be used by the Warriors.

1. Low-Post Split

As far as the Warriors offense goes, they run a lot of low-post splits. This is an action whereby the ball is passed into the post and then two players on the perimeter will cut towards each other.

One will set a screen for the other to set up an open three typically. This is usually done for Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson.

Anthony could set a screen for a shooter out top for a low-post split or he could receive a screen and get the open three-pointer himself. Curry and Thompson have massive gravity because of their fantastic shooting abilities, so it’s likely that Anthony would get a lot of wide-open threes from this action.

Besides that option, the Warriors could post-up Anthony and have him make the pass to the open three. If nothing comes of the screen then the next option would be to run a simple post-up isolation, which Anthony is excellent at.

This is similar to how the Warriors used Cousins last year.