3 free agents the Houston Rockets should not pursue

1. Carmelo Anthony

Every Rockets fan can remember all of the “Melo drama” from last summer. Carmelo wanted to join Houston and the team wanted him, but the business side of basketball prevented a deal from taking place. After it was clear that a future deal was improbable, the Knicks sent Melo to the Thunder instead.

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This new Thunder team, led by Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, did not live up to their lofty preseason expectations. OKC finished the year as the fourth seed in the west and they were eliminated by Utah in the first round of the postseason.

Anthony had the worst season of his career, averaging career lows in points (16.2), assists (1.3), steals (0.6), field goal percentage (40.4 percent) and free throw attempts (2.5).

Melo is not the same offensive force from years past and his defense has only gotten worse. Carmelo is not worth a $28 million salary, which is what the Rockets will owe him next season if they acquired him through a sign-and-trade.

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Carmelo’s season with OKC taught us that trying to sign him last summer was a mistake. In the postseason, the Thunder had a much better net rating with Melo on the bench and they were thoroughly outscored with him on the floor. For the sake of a potential championship, lets not make the same error twice.