Thunder to trade Anthony to Hawks
Carmelo Anthony is done in Oklahoma City.
A person with knowledge of the details told the Associated Press the Thunder are sending Anthony and a 2022 protected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for guard Dennis Schroder and center Mike Muscala. Anthony will be waived by the Hawks, clearing the way for him to sign as a free agent elsewhere.
ESPN, which first reported the trade, said the Thunder will send Muscala to the Philadelphia 76ers for forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Philadelphia forward Justin Anderson will be sent to Atlanta.
Schroder, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged a career-high 19.4 points last season for the Hawks in 67 games, all starts.
Anthony’s lone season in Oklahoma City was largely a bust. He averaged 16.2 points and struggled at times in his role alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Anthony, a 10-time All-Star, posted career lows in scoring average and fieldgoal percentage, and the Thunder were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by Utah.
Anthony, 34, had been the headliner his entire career — he’s 19th in NBA history with 25,417 points — but he was more of a catchand-shoot scorer last season instead of the isolation specialist he had always been. His playing time dwindled in the playoffs. In Game 6 of the series against Utah, he played fewer minutes than reserve Jerami Grant. After the season, Anthony said he prefers to play with the ball in his hands more and said coming off the bench is “out of the question.”
Anthony opted in earlier this summer to accept the $28 million he was due next season. The Thunder re-signed Grant, then it was reported that Anthony and the Thunder would eventually part ways, though it was unclear how it would happen.
Schroder will likely fill a role for the Thunder similar to that of James Harden and Reggie Jackson in the past — explosive player who thrives as a lead scorer with the second unit. The Thunder appear to be one of the best teams in the West after re-signing Paul George and Grant, adding center Nerlens Noel and Schroder and getting defensive stopper Andre Roberson back from a ruptured left patellar tendon that cost him the last three months of the season.
Schroder comes with some baggage. He was arrested in September following a fight at a hookah bar, an issue that has not been resolved. He was benched for most of the second half of a game during the 201617 season when he began arguing with Dwight Howard on the court, didn’t guard his man and gave up an easy basket. He was suspended for one game in 2017 when he returned late from the All-Star break. Mbah a Moute returns: Luc Mbah a Moute, a 31-year-old forward who has played for six teams in his 10 seasons in the league, is returning to one of them. He signed a free-agent deal with the Clippers after averaging 7.5 points, three rebounds and 1.18 steals in 61 games for Houston last season. Terms were not announced. Celtics re-sign Smart: Boston re-signed guard Marcus Smart, a restricted free agent, to a four-year deal. A person with knowledge of the agreement told the Associated Press that Smart will be paid $52 million over the next four years.
Smart averaged 10.2 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game this season. Briefly: Denver rookie forward Michael Porter Jr. underwent back surgery in Dallas and there is no timetable for his return to the court. Porter, who played one season at Missouri, was taken by the Nuggets with the 14th overall pick in the June draft . ... The Hawks requested waivers on guard Jaylen Morris, who appeared in six games with the team last season.