Houston Rockets
Of all the scenarios in which Carmelo Anthony is faced, the Rockets may offer the most intriguing. Houston has the ability to create enough cap space to sign Melo to a max deal and pair him with Dwight Howard and James Harden. The idea is that Howard’s rim-protection will allow Houston to make up for Anthony’s deficiencies on the defensive end. The only problem there is that he’ll also be covering up for Harden on the defensive end.
Another issue with the fit that Melo may have is that like Anthony, Harden likes to have the ball in his hands. A lot. This isn’t LeBron and Dwyane Wade learning to share the ball, this is two volume shooters trying to figure out how to get their points together. The fit seems nice on paper, but on the court there could be issues.
So how does Houston get around these potential problems to appease Anthony enough to sign him? Pretty easily actually. The Rockets have a great trade chip in the aforementioned Harden. Reports have indicated that Anthony and James are interested in playing together, and Houston is one of the few teams that can pair the duo while also offering them both close to max deals. A sign-and-trade for James in which the Rockets send Harden to Miami would give the Rockets an automatic title-contending core of LeBron, Melo and Dwight.
The only caveat here is that the Rockets want to make sure Anthony is on-board and ready to sign before making any moves on James. This makes tons of sense if you’re Houston. There’s no need to shop your star two-guard and anger him in the process if you don’t have any guarantees you’re getting Melo or Bron.
But there are definitely some enticing options in Houston for Anthony if he should decide to head to Texas.
Melo Fit: 9/10
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