The time of Carmelo Anthony in Houston may soon be coming to an end. Despite what the Rockets are saying publicly, reports claim that Anthony has played his final game in a Rockets uniform. What this means for Anthony’s future is unclear. He could be traded, but more likely he’ll be waived.
Anthony isn’t the same player at 34 he used to be, but he brings a veteran mindset that some teams might be willing to take a risk for. Anthony will likely want to play wherever he goes and early odds have Anthony ending up on winning teams with playoff aspirations or have him uniting with friends.
According to Sports Betting Dime, the Blazers are current favorites to acquire Anthony.
Team SBD’s Odds
Portland Trail Blazers 3/1
Philadelphia 76ers 4/1
Denver Nuggets 6/1
Los Angeles Lakers 6/1
Milwaukee Bucks 9/1
New Orleans Pelicans 15/1
Miami Heat 17/1
Golden State Warriors 20/1
BET DSI, on the other hand, has the 76ers as the favorites with the Lakers closely behind.
Philadelphia 76ers +125
Los Angeles Lakers +350
Brooklyn Nets +400
The Field -150
The Lakers, Heat, and Warriors all being on the list aren’t particularly surprising. The Lakers have Anthony’s good friend, LeBron James, and are always in seek of veterans to add to their roster in a short term capacity. The Heat are also always in seek of talent to bring to their very capped out roster while the Warriors will just add any former All-Star they can find sometimes.
Some of the more surprising names include the 76ers, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets. The Nuggets would be stunning considering the messy breakup Anthony went through with them early in his career. The Blazers would be interesting, but would adding Anthony help raise their ceiling in any way? It feels unlikely. Then again, Terry Stotts is a magician at squeezing out what he can in players.
The 76ers are the most interesting team on both lists. They’re the leading favorite and just recently added Jimmy Butler. Do the oddsmakers know something about Philadelphia that we don’t, or is this just an assumption based on Philadelphia’s clear desire to make moves for winning as soon as possible. For what it’s worth, Philadelphia based reporters are saying this probably isn’t going to happen.
In other #Sixers news, received a text from a team source categorically denying report this morning that they were/are kicking the tires on Carmelo Anthony.
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 12, 2018
Anthony should end up on a team, but what’s interesting is there’s also a chance that he doesn’t end up on another team. It might be difficult to believe, but he’s been so ineffective to this point that teams looking to win right now might avoid signing him. That roster spot would be better used on a young player with potential. If The Field includes Anthony retiring, or finishing the year not on a team, then the actual favorite in all of this is that Anthony’s career is over. That’s a hard pill to swallow.
