The Houston Rockets have confirmed in a tweet on Thursday, they will be parting ways with veteran forward Carmelo Anthony after just 10 games as a Rocket. To say the idea of bringing Melo in to play with stars James Harden and Chris Paul didn’t work would be an understatement.
Anthony joined the Rockets after being let out of his contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he was not a good fit and did not want to stay in a role where he felt less than appreciated. Rumors were he’d be heading to Houston in a larger role, but there were doubts he’d mesh with coach Mike D’Antoni considering their storied past.
The Rockets were considered a strong contender in the Western Conference but a slow start changed things in a hurry.
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1063198397212123138
News broke last week that the Rockets were thinking about cutting Anthony and while they tried to deny those rumors it became clear the speculation was true. His tenth game was his final game and on Thursday, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey suggested releasing Anthony was the best move for the team and Carmelo.
Houston did not suggest the release was due to any friction between player and coach or Anthony having similar issues to the ones he faced in OKC. It was simply a matter of him not fitting into their overall system and game plan and the team was not getting the results they wanted.
Sources told ESPN the Rockets have no plans to immediately waive Anthony and will help him try to find a new destination to call home. That process is rumored to have already started days ago.
What will Anthony do next? He apparently already has an offer on the table to play for Puerto Rico’s national team.
