The Houston Rockets have loaded up on talent this offseason bringing in superstar point guard Chris Paul to pair alongside MVP-candidate James Harden. Last night it appeared for a split second they were on the verge of making a big three, as power forward Nene posted a tweet suggesting Houston might be bringing in New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.
Nene posted this and then quickly deleted it pic.twitter.com/ugLDAyLuTx
— SportsBlogNewYork (@SportBlogNYC) July 11, 2017
It would be cool to see Carmelo Anthony alongside Harden and Paul, but there are multiple reasons to believe a deal wouldn’t happen – despite Nene’s post.
First of all, it would be very hard for the Rockets to bring in Carmelo’s cap hit. Even if they managed to include Ryan Anderson’s $19 million-a-year salary, matching Anthony’s $26 million deal would be challenging, especially considering how many salaries were traded to make the Paul trade work. General Manager Darryl Morey is brilliant and has facilitated some unlikely deals with creative maneuverings, but depleting his roster further to bring in Melo would be tough.
Secondly, Anthony and Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t see eye-to-eye during his stint with the New York Knicks. Why try to restart that relationship when things are going great in Houston?
Finally, adding Anthony would create a clusterfuck in terms of who gets the ball. Harden and Paul both need plenty of touches. Adding Anthony would seemingly ruin that flow as he demands (and holds onto the ball) way too much.
Nene is probably just speculating or wishing for a reunion with the post. The Rockets probably saw the post and told him to delete it asap. It would be pretty shocking to see Anthony end up in Houston. Although, stranger things have happened.
