LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 21: Houston Rockets Forward Carmelo Anthony (7) looks on before a NBA game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers on October 21, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Carmelo Anthony era is over in Houston with the trade sending him to the Bulls.
The Houston Rockets have found a trade partner for the former All-Star Carmelo Anthony. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN announced that he has been traded to the Chicago Bulls along with cash.
Wojnarowski said that the league office will not process the trade today, as it is a holiday. He also reports that Anthony will be waived by the Bulls and become a free agent should he clear waivers. Although the team is planning on holding that off until after the Feb. 7 NBA trade deadline. Anthony, as Wojnarowski points out, can be traded straight up for another player but cannot be part of a bigger deal.
This marks the second time in less than one season that Anthony was traded with the intention on being immediately waived. In the offseason Anthony was part of a three-team deal that sent him to Atlanta. This was after one season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in which Anthony looked like a shell of himself. The Hawks, like the Bulls plan on doing, immediately waived him.
That cleared Anthony’s path to sign a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets. The former All-NBA forward has been away from the team for two months. His last NBA action was way back in November when he went 1-for-11 in a loss.
Houston has been shuffling the deck to deal with their litany of injuries in the front court, most recently to Clint Capela. Over the weekend the Rockets agreed to a deal with Kenneth Faried. Faried was bought out by the Brooklyn Nets and will play in Houston’s game on Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
It has been a long two seasons for a player that was once a premier talent in the league. Anthony will now be free to sign anywhere he chooses, when he likely clears waivers. His services do not look like they are in high demand. However, it only takes on team that feels like he can put them over the top for Anthony to get another shot. All indications are that he wants to keep playing in the NBA as soon as possible.