Carmelo Anthony was supposed to come to the Rockets and provide a veteran star presence. At 34 years old he’s not the dominant scoring force he once was. but the idea was that Anthony could still produce in a limited role on a talented team like the Rockets.
Unfortunately for the Rockets and Anthony that has not been the case. He’s been atrocious when on the floor this season. He’s been a negative on defense and is averaging 13 points on 12 shots on offense. The Rockets net rating when he’s on the floor is a -11.6. Nobody that plays consistent minutes is worse. It’s not working out and the Rockets, despite denying that they’re going to waive him, are looking to end their relationship with Anthony, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times.
The Rockets have denied they are waiving Carmelo Anthony, but two sources close to the situation say Anthony has been informed that his brief time with the team will soon be ending. Anthony has been listed as "out" for Houston's game tonight against Indiana due to illness
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 11, 2018
So far the highlight of Anthony’s Rockets tenure has been a rebound that he sent out of bounds after telling everybody to clear out so he could grab it.
https://twitter.com/outsidethenba/status/1055284072069632000
He’s just had that kind of season with the Rockets so far for the former scoring champ. There was hope he could make it work, but the longtime star’s career may be quickly coming to a close. It didn’t work out with the Thunder before this and so far in Houston, he’s done what he can to try and fit the Rockets system. He just hasn’t played well. It’s as simple as that.
Yet, despite all of this and reports saying that Anthony could soon be on his way out, the Rockets are maintaining that he will stay in Houston. Anthony won’t talk about it, while Morey is dodging the question. He says they’re exploring “all their options” and then went so far as to say that Anthony should be back in the rotation once he’s healthy.
Does Melo still want to be on the Rockets? “I mean, you’re asking the wrong guy,” Daryl Morey said. “Everything I can tell is yes.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 11, 2018
Morey said he expects Carmelo Anthony to be back in the rotation when healthy. Said "we're evaluating everything." Said that applies to everyone.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) November 11, 2018
This all feels very hard to believe. Especially when you consider Anthony’s drop off. It would be one thing if he was out there jab stepping, isolating defenses, and holding the ball forever like he used to do in New York, but that hasn’t been his problem. It was this way last season in Oklahoma City. He’s missing shots he used to make. He’s slower. He can’t even keep up on defense when he does try. We may be not only looking at the end of Anthony’s time in Houston but soon his career. Some players drop off gradually with a slow descent. Some guys last for an eternity. Others drop off fast and hard. Anthony has dropped off hard and it was fast. It doesn’t matter what his role is at this point. He just can’t do it anymore.
