Getty NBA free agent Carmelo Anthony watches play from the sidelines between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Last season, Carmelo Anthony stint with the Houston Rockets only lasted ten games before being deactivated. The night before, the Rockets were scheduled to take on the San Antonio Spurs on November 1O, 2019.
The Rockets would trade Carmelo Anthony to the Chicago Bulls on January 22, 2019. Chicago would acquire the draft rights to former Ohio State Buckeye guard Jon Diebler and cash considerations in exchange for the rights to Tadija Dragicevic. The Bulls would later waive the 10-time All-Star.
Earlier this summer, Anthony was a guest on ESPN’s First Take with Stephen A. Smith and divulged that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey told him his services were no longer needed.
“He came in and basically said, ‘Look, your services are no longer needed,'” Anthony said of his conversation with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. “I was like, ‘What? Hold up. What the hell are you talking about? … You telling me I can’t make a 9-, 10-man rotation on this team?'”
Rockets Owner Tilman Fertitta on Carmelo’s Time in Houston
On September 20, 2019, SNY‘s Ian Begley interviewed Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, and during the chat, Begley asked Fertitta about the team releasing Carmelo Anthony.
“You know, it’s really unusual because I never really got a chance to meet Melo, but all I heard is what a gentleman he was and that he was going to play whatever part or role on the team that the coaches wanted him to play,” Fertitta explained.
“And basketball ops decided to make a decision and, you know, it kinda surprised me too, as a fan of the Houston Rockets. But I know what I know, and I know what I don’t know. And if my basketball ops thought that we should move on, then I sure wasn’t going to tell them not to, even though I thought that Melo’s one the greatest players to ever play the game.”
Dallas Mavericks Owner on Carmelo Being Unsigned
“This late in the season, unless you are really ready and have a specific need even after All-Star break. There has to be a team that needs his specific talent, and he is A Hall of Famer, but like everyone else, it’s it gotta be a fit,“ said Cuban.
So Can Carmelo Still Play in the NBA?
“I think so, I mean, I always enjoyed my time with Carmelo; obviously, his skill set is terrific. I think there is a lot of talk that Carmelo doesn’t want to change; it has nothing to do with that at all,” Billy Donovan told Fanatics View.
“I think Carmelo is trying to find his way where he can be an effective player, and he is willing to do whatever, but when you’ve played a certain way, and at the level that he’d play at for so many years, that’s what made him special.
So, think he has alway be willing how to figure out different ways to play. I don’t think it has ever been; he didn’t want to do that. I think he is trying to carve out a niche where he can help out a team.
He was a great guy and was great to work with, and I enjoyed being around him. He was great in our locker room, total pro, and I thought he was a class guy. I think the conversations we had were direct and honest. So, I do think he can help somebody,” said Donovan.
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