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If the Rockets and Carmelo Anthony do part ways, where else could Anthony fit in?
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Steve Aschburner: Indiana? The Pacers could use more firepower and it would give Anthony the opportunity to blend into and help a team that, more than most, gets serious mileage from its chemistry. But there’s the rub — does Nate McMillan risk upsetting that for a player who hasn’t demonstrated a willingness to defer to the greater good (other than in his admirable Olympic stints)? Maybe Gregg Popovich in San Antonio or Pat Riley in Miami decides to remind everyone that they can handle and deploy anybody, regardless of rep. Maybe LeBron gets him to the Lakers as another placeholder for when that team really steps it up next summer. Beyond those, it’s hard for me to see a team signing off on the risk/reward equation.
Shaun Powell: My pick is Memphis. The Grizzlies have forever needed scoring on the wing, they play a slower tempo and they don’t rely so much on the 3-pointer, which means Melo can return to shooting the mid-range jumper. They also can cover Melo on defense.
John Schuhmann: This question would be easier to answer if we knew exactly why there’s an issue in Houston. Yes, Anthony hasn’t played very well, has the worst plus-minus on the team, and isn’t as good as Trevor Ariza. But he’s played in only 10 games and has been on the floor with Chris Paul and James Harden for just 37 minutes. It seems a tad early to judge this situation a complete failure. Michael Carter-Williams has been DNP’d the last six games, and he’s on the bench cheering on his teammates, accepting his status as the fifth guard on the depth chart. There’s a huge Twitter crowd and maybe some media that blames Anthony for the Rockets’ slow start, but so what? NBA players should be able to block that out and the Rockets’ early issues clearly go beyond Anthony. So, is there an internal issue? Is Anthony unable to accept the possibility that he might get DNP’d from time to time? It feels like we’re missing a piece of the story, and until we find out what that missing piece is, how would we know if there’s a better situation for him?
Sekou Smith: There is no place Carmelo Anthony can go and outrun the narrative that has been chasing him for years now. Carmelo becomes an easy scapegoat in whatever situation he finds himself in next. It’s not fair. It’s not right for a future Hall of Famer of his ilk to suffer such a cruel fate in the twilight of his career. Yet here he is, facing yet another disastrous exit. There is no utopia out there for ‘Melo, not in the sense that there is a place he’d go and avoid the scrutiny and drama that has drained the life out of his past few seasons. I will tell you a place I’d be fascinated to see him go to and see if he could he replenish his career, and that’s down the road from Houston in San Antonio. I know it sounds crazy. And I know he’s not necessarily the type of player you’d ever expect to see in a Spurs uniform. I believe in the healing powers in that city and organization. Crazy … I know.
