According to Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant not the problem

If there are actually players around the league who don't want to play alongside 5-time NBA champ, Carmelo Anthony isn't one of them.

When asked if not wanting to play with Kobe kept him in New York, the recently re-signed Knicks forward told ESPN reporters:

Via BasketballInsiders:

Hell no. Of course not,” Anthony said. “If I thought that [playing for the Lakers] was the right situation for me from an overall perspective as far as having a team there, then I would have looked at that situation more in-depth. I just felt more comfortable staying here in New York. But as far as playing with him … I’m here now but I would always love to play with Kobe.”

Melo is now the third NBA player to refute the ESPN article from last week anonymously quoting NBA players and personnel as saying the Lakers recent failures are due to other stars not wanting to deal with Kobe. Earlier this week, former Laker Ramon Sessions denied that he left L.A. in 2012 because he didn't want to play with Bryant and Paul George chose to go to Twitter:

It wasn't that long ago that the best point guard in the league, Chris Paul, was about to play alongside Kobe before David Stern decided he'd rather see the Clippers claim Los Angeles. Who do people think was the most influential recruiter of Paul? Sasha Vujacic?

There's no refuting there have been plenty of players who have stayed away from L.A. when they had a chance to play there. But maybe we should look to earthquakes and taxes before we blame one of the ten greatest players in NBA history.