Carmelo Anthony ready to play power forward for OKC Thunder

Carmelo Anthony is ready to move to the four spot to help the Oklahoma City Thunder compete for a championship. Anthony, a natural small forward, is expected to join reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, defensive ace Andre Roberson, All-Star forward Paul George and Steven Adams in the starting unit.

Though Anthony laughed off the notion of coming off the bench, the former Knicks star is admittedly willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of the team. "I've been playing the 4 almost all my career. Even in Denver, we was one of those teams with George Karl, kinda started going playing that small ball, putting me at the 4, picking up the pace. So, it really doesn't matter at what position it is, what spot out there, as long as you fill those spots, as long as you know the offense, as long as you execute, those positions, they don't matter," Anthony said during Monday's pre-season media session.

With Westbrook and George already on the roster, Anthony is projected to be the No. 3 scoring option for the Thunder, who are trying to dethrone the Golden State Warriors as the best team in the western conference. Anthony believes that centre Steven Adams, a native of New Zealand, could prove to be the x factor for OKC.

"Playing alongside somebody like Steven Adams, who can get up on a pick, who can switch, who can guard different positions, I like that. I've always wanted to play with somebody like that," Anthony said.

Meanwhile, Thunder coach Billy Donovan confirmed Tuesday that Anthony would make a full-time transition from small forward to power forward. "No, he's going to start the power forward spot for us. That's what he's going to do," Donovan said, via ESPN.

Carmelo Anthony, 33, waived his US$8.1 million (AU$10.2 million) trade kicker to accommodate the trade to Oklahoma City Thunder. Since Anthony has a Player Option ahead of the 2018-19 season, OKC will avail of his services for at least the forthcoming season. Anthony has two years and US$54 million (AU$68 million) left on the five-year deal he signed with the New York Knicks in 2014.