Carmelo Anthony inches one step closer to landing with the Rockets

Former All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony took another step closer toward working his way to the Houston Rockets with his buyout with the Atlanta Hawks becoming official on Monday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Carmelo Anthony has finalized a contract buyout with the Atlanta Hawks and plans to wait until clearing waivers to officially tell the Houston Rockets of his plans to sign a free-agent deal, league sources told ESPN.

The 34-year-old will hit the open market for the second time in his career where he will have the choice of where he wants to play next season. It is widely expected that he will join the Rockets on a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum worth $2.4 million.

Houston has been viewed as the favorites to land Anthony as there is a pressing need to address their small forward position with both Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute each departing in free agency. He could immediately step into the starting role while helping provide more offensive firepower as another proven scorer.

Anthony is coming off his lone season with the Oklahoma City Thunder where he averaged 16.2 points on a career-low 40.4 percent shooting from the field and 35.7 percent from 3-point range along with 5.8 rebounds in 32.1 minutes per contest while starting in all 78 games played.

There has been a notable decline in his production, but the change of scenery may help him get back on track to being a more effective scorer. The hope is that he could be the missing piece to help lift them to a title after falling just a win short of reaching the NBA Finals this past season.