Free agency in the NBA 2021: Carmelo Anthony teams up with LeBron James and signs a one-year agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers.

 Carmelo Anthony's management tells ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that the Los Angeles Lakers will sign him to a one-year agreement. The contract is expected to be for the veteran's minimum, which is the same as his previous two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Anthony and his close friend LeBron James have been working toward this signing for a long time. They've both represented Team USA, but never in the NBA. In 2016, James even told Howard Beck that he would take a pay cut to play with Anthony, Dwyane Wade (who is still retired), and Chris Paul (who the Lakers couldn't afford this offseason). This season, James will still earn his maximum pay. The Lakers also made a number of additional moves on Tuesday, including allegedly agreeing to terms with free-agent guard Malik Monk, who will provide the team with much-needed shooting. Los Angeles also signed Kendrick Nunn to a two-year contract, while Talen Horton-Tucker re-signed with the Lakers to a three-year, $32 million contract.

Thanks to their blockbuster deal for Russell Westbrook, the Lakers entered free agency with only four players under guaranteed contracts. As a result, there was a dire need for depth, particularly among shooters. Anthony, it appears, will step in to fill the hole. Last season, he hit 40.9 percent from beyond the arc, but maybe more importantly, He attempted 41.8 percent of his shots from behind the arc. Last season, he came off the bench full-time for the first time in his career, and he thrived in his new role offensively.

On defense, he's always struggled, and those concerns resurfaced in Portland last season. Last season, the Blazers allowed 115.8 points per 100 possessions when Anthony was on the floor. That was the team's second-worst score, trailing only second-year forward Nassir Little. When did he sit? They strengthened their defense by only allowing 112.1 points per 100 possessions. When they weren't in the game, that tied Damian Lillard for the lowest figure among Blazers players. The Blazers were bad on defense in any lineup, but they were at their worst with Anthony in the lineup.

Since Anthony Davis and Frank Vogel joined the Lakers in 2019, the squad has been constructed around defense. It will be up to them to figure out how to take advantage of Anthony's attacking abilities while still keeping him safe on defense. If they succeed, Anthony will have his best chance to win his first professional championship yet.