Getty Houston Rockets forward Carmelo Anthony
While the Houston Rockets remained patient in their search for a trade to send forward Carmelo Anthony out of town, that day finally arrived. After playing just 10 games with the Rockets this season, Anthony is now on his way to the Chicago Bulls in a move first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
In the deal, the Rockets will also send cash to the Bulls, as this was an apparent move to free up a roster spot and also to save money towards the luxury tax moving forward. ESPN’s Bobby Marks detailed the luxury tax situation, citing that the Rockets save $2.6 million towards the number.
The Rockets will save $2.6M towards the luxury tax by trading the Carmelo Anthony contract.
While the trade was made official on Tuesday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania detailed the full terms of the deal which included Anthony and the draft rights to Jon Diebler, along with $1.56 million going to Chicago. In exchange, the Rockets received the draft rights to Tadija Dagicevoc.
Sources: Rockets and Bulls have completed trade: Carmelo Anthony, draft rights to Jon Diebler and $1.56 million to Chicago for draft rights to Tadija Dragicevoc.
Let’s take a look at the updated roster and starting lineup for the Bulls moving forward, although Anthony is unlikely to be a part of it in any fashion.
Bulls Roster & Starting Lineup After Carmelo Anthony Trade
| Position | Expected Starter | Backup | |
| Center | Wendell Carter (injured) | Robin Lopez | Cristiano Felicio |
| Power Forward | Lauri Markkanen | Bobby Portis | |
| Small Forward | Chandler Hutchinson | Jabari Parker | Carmelo Anthony |
| Shooting Guard | Zach LaVine | Wayne Selden | Antonio Blakeney |
| Point Guard | Kris Dunn | Ryan Arcidiacono | Shaquille Harrison |
It’s worth noting that Diebler currently plays overseas and is unlikely to join the Bulls. Beyond that, Anthony won’t be a part of the rotation either, and he probably won’t even join the team. As Wojnarowski reported, the Bulls are either going to waive him near the trade deadline or move him out of town.
Carmelo Anthony will not play a game for the Bulls, but it is possible that franchise holds off on waiving him until the trade deadline, league sources tell ESPN. Bulls could include him in a one-for-one trade, but can’t aggregate his contract in another deal.
There are a few teams who could be potential suitors for Anthony if and when the Bulls move him. One is the Los Angeles Lakers, but it’s tough to envision Magic Johnson, or really any NBA front office giving up a whole lot for the veteran forward at this point.
Carmelo Anthony’s Stock Trending Down
While there may be some level of interest from a few teams in bringing Anthony to town, doing so via trade seems unlikely. The former All-Star’s numbers have hit an obvious decline which began during his only season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. During that year, Anthony averaged 16.2 points per game, the lowest of his career at that point, while shooting just 40.4 percent from the field.
The downward trend of Anthony’s career numbers continued from there, but he only played the 10 games with the Rockets, so it was a limited sample size. His scoring dropped to 13.4 points while he averaged a career-worst 5.4 rebounds per game. The 34-year-old also shot 40.5 percent from the field and just 32.8 percent from beyond the arc.
All that’s left to do now is wait and see what Anthony’s future holds, but it seems unlikely to include him wearing a Bulls jersey.
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Bulls Roster & Starting Lineup After Carmelo Anthony Trade