GM refutes report
Morey says Anthony isn’t on verge of being waived.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey on Sunday refuted a report that forward Carmelo Anthony had been told he would not remain with the team, saying he expects Anthony to remain in the rotation when healthy.
Morey said Anthony wants to remain with the Rockets. Morey called rumors and speculation about Anthony’s future “unfair” and the reason he made himself available to the media on the topic.
Morey and Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni also left the door open for all that to change. That might come with the territory of a 5-7 team that began the season with championship aspirations. But Morey said the Rockets are “evaluating everything.”
“I would expect Carmelo to be playing when he’s healthy, yes,” Morey said.
Rotation gets crowded
D’Antoni later said Morey has had to consider changes and suggested that when Anthony does return — he missed a second consecutive game, a 115-103 win over the Pacers, on Sunday with an illness — that his minutes could be reduced in a rotation growing crowded with the return of Eric Gordon and the determination to play Gary Clark, an undrafted rookie signed to a two-way contract.
“I know, like Daryl said, they’re exploring all options,” D’Antoni said. “With everybody coming back, it squeezes some things, and then we’ll see how it goes.”
Morey said Anthony, 34, had not been told he would be waived, as was reported Sunday. Anthony, a 10-time All-Star who is 19th on the all-time NBA scoring list, has averaged 13.4 points on 40.5 percent shooting and 32.8 percent 3-point shooting. But as the Rockets have fallen to among the worst offensive teams in the NBA, ranking 27th offensively, 29th in scoring and 30th in field-goal percentage, Anthony’s play offensively has been no worse than typical.
“There’s just a lot of unfair-like rumors and everything going around about him,” Morey said. “He’s been great with us. As Coach said (Saturday), his approach has been great. He’s accepted every role Coach has given him — starting, off the bench, whatever it’s been. We’re struggling as a team, and it’s my job, it’s Coach’s job, to figure this thing out. We’ve just got to figure it out. We’re evaluating everything.
“We’re talking about everything. We’re a team trying to win the championship, and we’re 4-7. We’re not in a good place, so we’re looking at everything.”
Morey repeatedly said his evaluations would apply to every player, though he might not be assessing the play of James Harden, Clint Capela or Chris Paul, who has struggled, the same as the rest.
“I’d give the same answer for every roster player,” Morey said. “We’re talking about everything — everyone’s approach, everyone’s role, every aspect right now — because obviously, we’re just way off from where we thought we’d be.”
The Rockets went into Sunday’s game off losses in which they scored 80 and 85 points. They had scored fewer than 90 points in four games, more than in all of last season combined and twice as often as any other team. Anthony made just one of 11 shots in his return to Oklahoma City on Thursday, but when asked if Anthony’s situation and the reports about the team’s reconsidering his role had been a distraction, D’Antoni said the problems are not so easy to pinpoint.
Problems widespread
“It’s an easy thing to say yeah, but it isn’t,” D’Antoni said. “Our problem is we can’t shoot the basketball. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to start winning and get back on track and focus on the main thing. Winning and losing, it’s definitely not his fault. I don’t know if it’s even related, the two.”
D’Antoni said Saturday that Anthony’s role had not changed from “backing up the four.” When asked Thursday about the shots Anthony is getting, D’Antoni said those are the shots he will continue to get, with Anthony putting up slightly more than half of his 12.1 attempts per game from the 3-point line. He has been so inconsistent, however, that in his 10 games played, he has scored 22 or more points three times and in single digits six times.
“We’ve been extremely happy with his approach,” Morey said. “Every reason we’ve brought him here, he’s followed. Again, that’s why he’s here. It’s unfair that there’s all this speculation on just one player. I understand it, because he’s obviously a Hall of Famer, but it’s unfair.”