The Carmelo Anthony offseason drama continues to unfold as the current Atlanta Hawks forward comes closer and closer to officially becoming a Houston Rocket.
Most recently, Anthony has been traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Hawks. It is assumed that the Hawks will soon waive him or push for a buyout, allowing any team to then sign Anthony.
Rumors around the league heavily indicate that the team that will acquire him will be the Rockets.
While any team in the NBA would like to acquire a player of Melo’s talent, there have been red flags that indicate that he isn’t the player he once was.
Anthony had a nightmare of a season last year with the Thunder, putting up career lows in most significant categories. The season ended with a dismal performance in the playoffs, where Anthony never hit his groove offensively, shooting a measly 37 percent from the field and 21 percent from deep.
Considering last season, it wouldn’t be ridiculous to ask Anthony to take a lesser role and perhaps even come off the bench. However, Melo will have none of that talk. Per Jemele Hill of The Undefeated, Anthony insists:
“I know how to play this game of basketball… I’ve been playing it for a long time. When I feel like I’m ready to take that role, then I’ll take that role. Only I know when it’s best for me to take that role. I’m not going to do that in a situation where I still know my capabilities and what I can do.”
It’s true that Anthony has certainly proved himself to be an all-time great offensive talent. However, those days when he could consistently put up 25-30 points effortlessly may be behind him now.
It could benefit the Rockets to have someone off the bench provide a scoring punch, especially if Eric Gordon moves in the starting line-up to replace the departed Luc Mbah a Moute and Trevor Ariza. But if Anthony gets his way, we’ll never see him check in to a game after the starting whistle.
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