NBA former scoring champion Carmelo Anthony signed a non-guaranteed deal to play for the Portland Trail Blazers last month. He played 9 games so far, averaging 16.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 31.3 minutes a game. In the original deal, Portland has the option to drop Anthony until January when the contract automatically becomes a guaranteed deal. With less than a month to go, the Portland Trail Blazers management ensured that they plan to keep Anthony in their roster for the rest of the season.

Anthony won the NBA Player of the Week in his one month with Portland, They are 9-14 so far, and currently tied at 10th place with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference. They won 4 out of 9 games with Anthony, including a three-game winning streak. That's a 44.4% win-loss rate as opposed to 35.7% early in the season before they signed the Anthony.

In the last nine games, they also faced tough opponents such as the Los Angeles Lakers, the Milwaukee Bucks, and new and improved Los Angeles Clippers. They lost all three games against those strong championship contenders.

According to Blazers Edge, Anthony's contract is valued at $2.15 million but will only cost the team $1.36 million, with over $800 thousand reimbursed by the NBA. The league is helping to pick up the tab to keep one of their more popular veterans on the court. Anthony averaged 22.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists last week to win the Western Conference Player of the Week award. Anthony only played ten games last season before being traded to the Chicago Bulls, who eventually waived his contract.

Last season, the Trail Blazers made it into the Playoffs. They were third place in the Western Conference, but this year it will be a long struggle to clinch a spot. The Trail Blazers made it all the way to the conference finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors. This year both the Trail Blazers and the Warriors are having a difficult season and most likely won't even make it to the playoffs.

NBA star Carmelo Anthony Reuters