On The Move Again: Carmelo Anthony Traded To The Bulls
After things did not work out with a new Big 3 in Oklahoma City and struggling with the Houston Rockets this season, Carmelo Anthony has been traded to the Chicago Bulls along with cash. However, Anthony will not play for the Bulls as they will eventually trade him or waive him before the NBA Trade Deadline which falls on February 7th. Since league offices were not open on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the trade between the Rockets and Bulls was finalized today. Since the Rockets wanted to get the newly-signed Kenneth Faried into the lineup on Monday and could not complete the Anthony trade to open up a roster spot, they were forced to terminate the 10-day contract they gave to forward James Nunnally.
According to the league rules, league office staff is available to take trades during holidays, which Monday happened to be. The catch is, the teams must notify the league office in regard to the terms of the possible trade by 6 PM EST on the business day prior to the holiday. Per ESPN, the NBA says "the rule is designed to properly make sure that trades are in rules compliance and make sure that all teams have an equal chance to complete deals on weekends." With this not happening, Nunnally's contract was terminated and Faried played against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night as Clint Capela heals from his right thumb injury he suffered just over a week ago. In his Rockets' debut, Faried scored 13 points, hauled in six rebounds, and had two turnovers over the course of 22 minutes played.
As for Carmelo Anthony's future, the Bulls are not going to waive him immediately, and he could potentially be used in a one-for-one trade prior to the aforementioned deadline. While the Los Angeles Lakers have interest in acquiring Anthony, they do not have plans to waive a player to create a space on their roster for him. Unfortunately, it seems like at the current moment the 10-time All-Star will not be playing anytime soon unless a team is willing to make room for him or make a deal for his services in the near-future. Since being traded from the Knicks back in 2017, Anthony has struggled to get comfortable with the teams he has played for. In his one season with the Thunder, Melo started in 78 games and put up 16.2 points per game which was the worst points per game average of his career. He struggled with his shooting all season long and finished with a career-low 40.4% field goal percentage as Oklahoma City was eventually bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Utah Jazz.
Then last offseason, Anthony did not exercise the early termination option on the final year of his contract and the Thunder traded him to the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta and Melo agreed to a buyout and the 34-year-old signed on with the Houston Rockets on a one-year deal worth the veteran minimum of $2.4 million. Anthony's stint in Houston was short-lived as well, lasting just 10 games in which he started in two of those and averaged 13.4 points per game. By November, Melo and the Rockets parted ways and Houston was looking for a place to send Anthony before releasing him. Since he signed with the team over the summer, Melo was ineligible to be traded until December 15th and now just over a month later he is on the move. Where he ends up now remains to be seen, but it certainly does not seem like the 17-year veteran is going to be exiting the game of basketball anytime soon.
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