We are heading into the third week of the NBA season, and future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony has still not found a suitor for his services. He hasn’t played since he was deactivated by the Houston Rockets after just 10 games into the 2018-19 season.
Last month, ESPN’s Baxter Holmes released a report stating the reason why Anthony is not on an NBA roster relates to him being a liability on the defensive end.
“We just couldn’t put him on the floor defensively,” one team source says.
According to Baxter, another Rockets team source believes Anthony should have signed with the Miami Heat or not played at all last season.
“I feel awful that it ended the way it did,” says another Rockets source. “He would have been better off either going to Miami or just not playing. But those 10 games basically ruined him.”
Does Carmelo Anthony Still Want to Play?
Earlier this evening, Heavy.com’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson spoke to Anthony about numerous topics, including if he still wanted to play in the NBA.
“2000 percent,” said Anthony. “And make that the headline.”
Carmelo Anthony just told me he wants to return 2000% wants to see @JCrossover play and is pleased with Derrick Rose’s play.
There has been plenty of players that feel Carmelo Anthony should still be playing in the NBA. This includes Blake Griffin, Kristaps Porzingis, Kevin Love, and Isaiah Thomas.
“Melo [Carmelo Anthony] looks great physically in the videos on social media and obviously one of the best offensive players of all time. So he is going to score the ball no matter what, but different situations are going on, and he wants to be in a certain place where he could win. Also, finish his career how he would like to; it’s hard to say. But I would love to see Melo on a team definitely,” Porzingis told Fanatics View.
Former Wizards Great Gilbert Arenas Knew Signing With Rockets Was a Disaster
Back in August, I interviewed Arenas, and he shared that signing with the Rockets didn’t make sense from a basketball perspective. And Anthony should have learned from his time in Oklahoma City.
“I remember the reports named Houston as a possible destination for him to land. I said, ‘Hell no,’ don’t go there, it is going be a disaster, and it is not going to work,” Arenas told me. “You just for the first time in your career played with two ball-dominant players [Russell Westbrook and Paul George in OKC], and it made you the third option. So, to go right back to a team that is going to make you again, the third option is a disaster.”
The aforementioned Kevin Love also spoke about whether Anthony’s game would translate to the modern-day NBA or not.
“Absolutely! Melo’s game translates, and he is another guy I respect and admired for a really long time. The way he approaches the game, and I think it is always tough to see these savvy veterans get a bad name with a 24-hour news cycle. But Melo can still bring a hell of a lot to a team, and if you get him on the right team, there is going to be a lot of firepower for those guys,“ Love said.
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Carmelo Anthony ‘2000 Percent’ Sure He Wants Return to NBA