’Melo hitches his ring hopes to Rockets
Will get buyout from Hawks and sign with Houston, report says
Carmelo Anthony is planning to sign with the Houston Rockets upon clearing waivers in coming days, according to two people with knowledge of his plans.
Anthony is unlikely to become a free agent before next week at the earliest because his pending trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks could take several days before it is officially completed, according to the people, who insisted on anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the trade publicly.
But the three-way deal that also features the Philadelphia 76ers has been agreed to and is lined up to be executed after Philadelphia makes another roster move. Sharpshooter Kyle Korver of the Cleveland Cavaliers is among the players Philadelphia is known to be pursuing via trade before completing the deal with Oklahoma City and Atlanta.
The Anthony trade calls for the Thunder to send the highscoring former all-star and a lottery-protected 2022 firstround pick to the Hawks in exchange for guard Dennis Schroder. The transaction also calls for the 76ers to end up with Atlanta forward Mike Muscala and send out two players: Justin Anderson to Atlanta and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to Oklahoma City.
The Hawks have pledged to release Anthony once the trade is complete, according to the people, which will allow him to earn next season’s scheduled $27.9-million (U.S.) salary — as stipulated by the original fiveyear contract he signed with the New York Knicks in the summer of 2014 — and then sign with Houston upon clearing waivers. He is expected to receive a one-year deal from the Rockets at the league’s veteran minimum salary of $2.4 million.
Anthony will clear waivers 48 hours after Atlanta formally lets him go, enabling him to then sign with the team of his choice. Rockets officials have been operating under the strong belief that Anthony will soon be Houston-bound since meeting with him face-to-face during summer-league play in Las Vegas earlier this month.
The New York Times first reported July 10 that the Rockets had emerged as the unquestioned front-runner to sign Anthony once he becomes a free agent.
Houston has been pursuing Anthony since last summer, when the Rockets acquired his good friend Chris Paul in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. A year later, Houston’s need for frontcourt rein- forcements is even more pronounced after the departures of Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in free agency.
The Rockets’ star guard James Harden, at a community appearance Friday, told The Houston Chronicle that Anthony would be “a great acquisition for us.”
“Melo’s a proven vet,” Harden told the newspaper. “He just wants to win at this point, so it would be great for him to be on our team.”
Oklahoma City is projected to save nearly $75 million in luxu- ry-tax payments by shipping out Anthony and bringing in Schroder to serve as an understudy and occasional backcourt sidekick to All-Star Russell Westbrook.
Joining the Rockets will reunite Anthony, 34, with Houston coach Mike D’Antoni after the pair struggled badly to mesh in New York, which ultimately led to D’Antoni’s resignation as Knicks coach. But the parties are committed to trying to forge a more successful partnership this time, with Paul’s presence believed to be crucial.