The 4-time NBA champ seems to know something about Carmelo Anthony's basketball future -- suggesting he'll sign with the Lakers before the NBA All-Star break.

... and then he winked at us like a guy who knows things.

Our photog smartly pushed John Salley to see what he knows -- but that's when John started to play coy ... and said Carmelo plus LeBron is the formula for Anthony to win his first NBA championship.

So, how would Salley know?

He's tight with Magic Johnson and he's still plugged in with a ton of important NBA people.

Then again, he might have just had something in his eye ...

34-year-old Anthony signed a 1-year $2.4 million contract with the Houston Rockets back in August -- but it wasn't a good fit and, in November, the team announced they were parting ways with Melo.

He's still technically on the roster -- but it's clear his days in Houston are done.

Melo and LeBron played together on the 2008 and 2012 Olympic team -- they won gold both times. The two are good friends off the court.

In fact, Melo was there during the infamous banana boat ride back in 2015 -- but Anthony never actually got on the raft.