Carmelo Anthony is one step closer to being on the Rockets

The Rockets are one step closer to acquiring a long-desired player by the franchise.

It has been a long time coming for the Houston Rockets and Carmelo Anthony. After some news today, it seems like the long saga might just about be over…finally.

Last summer, the second half of free agency was all about trying to acquire Melo from the New York Knicks. In the end, the Rockets didn’t have the assets required to trade for the then-star. He instead went to Oklahoma City, where he ended up not fitting very well.

Now this summer, it is the Thunder who were looking for trade partners for Melo. They want his large salary off of their books and Melo wants to be in a place where his talents are better utilized, unlike OKC.

Today, the Thunder found that partner. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, they traded Anthony to the Hawks, who will buy him out and allow him to choose where he wants to sign for next season.

Oklahoma City has agreed to trade Carmelo Anthony and a protected 2022 first-round pick to Atlanta for point guard Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala, league sources tell ESPN. Anthony will be waived, and he will join team of his choice. Rockets are frontrunner.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 19, 2018

As you can see, the Rockets are the frontrunner for Anthony, as it seemed like they were last offseason. This time, though, he gets a more free decision as to where he will sign.

Hit fit with Houston

It’s no secret that Carmelo Anthony has a negative track record over the past few years. Going back to his losing years in New York, he has generally been bad for his teams.

Last year in OKC was a recipe for disaster before it began. They put together three high-volume scorers and hoped it would work. At times, it did. But for the most part, it was an ugly offensive season for the Thunder and Melo had the worst season of his career.

Even with his defensive deficiencies as well as Russell Westbrook’s, OKC still managed to have a solid defense all around. That’s what the Rockets will hope for if Melo decides to sign with the team in the next few days.

Carmelo Anthony will also be playing with two Hall of Fame playmakers who will be nothing but good for the shot-chucker. He will have more open looks than ever before and it should be a much better situation for him than New York or Houston. If he buys in and realizes that he is declining, he could be a special offensive piece for the Rockets.

Almost a guarantee?

According to a report, Carmelo Anthony has already started telling people that he will be with the Rockets. He also even was working out with his good friend Chris Paul. Let’s hope that already-built chemistry will lead to Melo being much happier and more willing to buy into the system.

It should surprise no one that @carmeloanthony has been telling people for more than a week that he’ll ultimately wind up with the Rockets, per league source.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 19, 2018

Next: Could the Kings trade for Ryan Anderson?

Whatever happens, the Rockets are still looking to improve and will likely also be looking for another defensive wing to balance out the system. We shall see what happens!