Carmelo Anthony has not appeared in an NBA game since Nov. 8 after he and the Houston Rockets decided to go their separate ways, but it may not be too long before he is back on the court.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Joe Vardon on Friday, Anthony “has multiple options available and is expected to pick one before the Feb. 7 trade deadline.” It’s not clear, though, if those options would potentially be completed via trade or a release and signing.
It’s been a bumpy journey for the 10-time All-Star since he was traded from the New York Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder in September 2017. After struggling to adjust to playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks last summer before being waived.
The 34-year-old wound up signing a one-year deal with the Rockets for the veteran’s minimum of $2.4 million. However, his tenure in Houston was short-lived.
Anthony and the Rockets struggled, with the forward asked to come off the bench for the first time in his career. He averaged 13.4 points on 40.5 percent shooting (32.8 percent from three-point range) and 5.4 rebounds per game in 10 appearances.
The Rockets announced on Nov. 16 that Anthony would not be a member of the team moving forward as “the fit we envisioned” never materialized.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (h/t ESPN’s Rachel Nichols) reported in late November that executives around the league told him that it was possible the former scoring champ’s NBA career was over:
Team execs have told @WindhorstESPN Carmelo Anthony has likely played his last NBA game, but what about the teams whose primary interest isn’t, um, well, winning right now? Melo is a popular locker room guy, fan fave & if his defense is lacking, maybe a front office won’t mind?
There has not been much buzz surrounding Anthony in recent weeks either. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in August that the Miami Heat were among the teams interested in adding Anthony before he signed with Houston.
As Vardon wrote in December, LeBron James is interested in his Banana Boat buddy joining the Los Angeles Lakers. James later acknowledged, though, that roster decisions aren’t up to him, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Amick and Vardon noted that Anthony’s “conditioning and the overall state of his game” are going to be considered by the Lakers before considering any potential move.
Anthony has gone two months and counting since his last appearance in the NBA. While it may take some time to get him up to speed with a new team, it appears that it may not be long before he is back in action.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
