The Houston Rockets have indeed moved future Hall of Fame forward Carmelo Anthony after he suited up in only 10 games for the season.
That’s not the shocking news. Instead, it’s that Houston has dealt Melo to the lowly Chicago Bulls. It goes without saying that this move shocked pretty much everyone around the Association on Martin Luther King Day.
Here’s the overall impact of the trade.
Anthony’s stint in Chicago will be short: There’s no reason to believe he’ll ever play for the Bulls.
- This move was made by Chicago primarily to add assets to help in their long-term rebuild effort. The team will buy Anthony out.
- There’s no reason for an 11-36 team to add someone of Anthony’s ilk to a young roster. Given the drama in Chicago, that’s magnified further.
The financial impact: This move gives Houston some wriggle room.
- Anthony signed a relatively low one-year, $2.93 million deal to go to Houston after he was bought out by the Atlanta Hawks — a team Melo never played for.
- As a result of this roster move, the Rockets will now sign veteran forward Kenneth Faried. He’ll replace Anthony as a top forward off the team’s bench.
There’s going to be a market for Anthony: Look for contending teams to come calling.
- We already know that Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is intrigued by the possibility of bringing in this member of the banana boat crew.
- Whether Los Angeles actually makes the move remains to be seen. The team has to think about playing time for young forwards Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram at the three.
- Other teams will show interest. Sure Anthony’s stint in Houston was disastrous. But he does have a market. Look for the Celtics, Sixers, Blazers and even the Warriors to show interest.