Melo: 'I have no problem with playing the 4'

On Tuesday, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan shocked no one by telling reporters that Carmelo Anthony would slide to power forward in his first season with Oklahoma City. After all, he wasn't going to come off the bench.

And given the talented roster that now surrounds him, Anthony has no issue with moving up.

"I have no problem with playing the four," Anthony said, per ESPN's Royce Young. "I actually like that, I actually embrace that. And for this team, I think it will be better."

Anthony didn't always embrace minutes at power forward with the New York Knicks, even though there were times the case could have been made that he played better there. But with a sudden "superteam" frontcourt of himself and Paul George in OKC, somebody has to man the position.

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"I've been playing the four almost all my career," Anthony added. "Even in Denver ... we kinda started going playing that small ball, putting me at the four, picking up the pace. We kind of started that."

For what it's worth, George didn't particularly like it when the Indiana Pacers suggested he soak up minutes at power forward two years ago. And in this new George-Melo-Russell Westbrook dynamic, it only makes sense that Anthony plays there

The 33-year-old possesses the perfect size for a modern-day four, along with the ability to pull defenders out. While Anthony's never been known as a 3-point marksman, he shot above the league average (35.9 percent) from beyond the arc last season.

Anthony surely understands he's the third wheel in this offense - something he's never been at any level. Yet, as the game continues to evolve into positionless basketball, the 15th-year veteran sounds ready to adapt.

"Now, it's just whoever," Anthony said. "You have two-guards playing center now, guys 6-foot-5 playing center. So, it really doesn't matter at what position it is, what spot out there, as long as you fill those spots."