Last we saw Carmelo Anthony, he was clanging jumpers left and right on his way to a 1-for-11 shooting performance on Nov. 8 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That would be his last game in a Houston Rockets uniform, putting a swift end to the Melo experiment in Texas. We haven’t heard much from the former NBA scoring champ since then, but a new report indicates that Anthony’s career hasn’t come to an end quite yet. In fact, he could be back in the NBA by the trade deadline.
Per The Athletic, Anthony has “multiple options available” and is expected to choose his next destination ahead of the Feb. 7 trade deadline. Anthony, who signed a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Rockets over the summer, could either be traded or simply waived by team.
There’s no word on which teams are interested, but ever since Anthony and the Rockets came to a mutual parting, Anthony’s name has been tied to the Los Angeles Lakers because of his friendship with one LeBron James. It appears the Lakers still have some interest in bringing Anthony in, though they’d have to do some complicated maneuvering.
Via The Athletic:
The Lakers, who have a full roster and would have to waive someone to sign him if he was waived, continue to be tied to Anthony more than any other team. But according to a Lakers source, the fact that the roster is full is not a small obstacle. Not only is it unclear how they would clear the roster spot to add Anthony, or if there’s a possible trade to be made there with the Rockets, but a source close to James said Anthony’s conditioning and the overall state of his game are considered key factors here in terms of convincing the Lakers to add the player who had the worst season of his career with the Thunder and wasn’t any better with the Rockets.
Anthony averaged 13.4 points playing almost 30 minutes a night in 10 games for the Rockets.
