Carmelo Anthony telling people he’ll sign with the Rockets
In the last couple of weeks, there has been a growing notion that the Oklahoma City Thunder are hedging toward parting ways with former All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Thunder finally pulled the trigger on a trade with the Atlanta Hawks that will allow for Anthony to hit the open market after a buyout.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to trade forward Carmelo Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks, where he will be waived and will become a free agent, league sources said.
This will officially allow him to hit the open market where he’s expected to join the Houston Rockets, who have a glaring need to address their small forward situation with both Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah A Moute each departing in free agency. It is also an opportunity for him to compete for an NBA title on one of the top teams in the league.
Meanwhile, the Thunder have acquired more backcourt help with the arrival of veteran point guard Dennis Schroder. This has also allowed for the Hawks to get Schroder’s contract off the books along with handing the reins of the franchise over to rookie point guard Trae Young.
Anthony is now seemingly headed to the Houston Rockets after this long-awaited trade and eventual buyout, according to David Aldridge.
It should surprise no one that @carmeloanthony has been telling people for more than a week that he’ll ultimately wind up with the Rockets, per league source.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 19, 2018
On top of that, Anthony will be able to earn all the $27.9 million in the final year of his deal in the buyout. Last season, the 34-year-old 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.
