Jalen Rose Says Carmelo's a Great Pickup For Blazers, Happy He's Back!

Carmelo Anthony is FINALLY making his NBA return Tuesday night ... and ex-NBA star Jalen Rose says he's expecting the newest Trail Blazer to make an immediate impact.

It's been 374 days since Melo saw the court ... but he'll be making his highly-anticipated return when Portland takes on the Pelicans in a few hours.

TMZ Sports spoke with Rose out in NYC about Anthony getting picked up ... and he's elated the "Free Melo" campaign is over.

"I'm happy that he back in the league," Rose tells us. "I think it's a great pickup to have a Hall of Famer back in the league and have the opportunity to end on his own terms."