Houston Rockets: James Harden confident Carmelo Anthony will fit

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

James Harden is confident that if Carmelo Anthony decides to join the Houston Rockets, he’ll be a great fit for the team.

The trade sending Carmelo Anthony from the Thunder to the Hawks is now officially complete. Anthony is one step closer to signing with a new team in free agency, which will likely be the Rockets.

After going through all of the formalities, Atlanta will waive Anthony, making him a free agent after 48 hours. All indications point towards the forward signing with Houston, likely on a veteran’s minimum deal.

Everyone in the Rockets’ organization seems to be on board with Melo coming to Houston, including reigning MVP James Harden. In order for Anthony to fit in with Houston, Harden knows that communication and sacrifice are key, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.

“It’s all about communication. Obviously, there are a lot of egos, a lot of talent. But some of that has to be sacrificed for us to get to where we need to go. Obviously everybody in the world knows what Carmelo brings, how gifted and talented he is, and he still has a lot more to go. If he comes to the Rockets, we will bring the best out of him, and I am sure he will bring the best out of us as well.”

As for the critics who don’t think Anthony is a good fit for Houston, Harden reflected on the doubts about how he and Chris Paul would co-exist on the floor last summer, via Jonathan Feigen.

“Go back to articles and conversations where people said me and Chris can’t play together. We had the No. 1 record in the NBA. Obviously, you can look at our roster or you can look at different players, but you have to be on the court, you have to be in the trenches, be in the war. Eventually, we will figure it out. We have enough leadership in that locker room and a great coaching staff to figure it out.”

Paul and Anthony have been in the NBA for well over a decade. Harden will begin his 10th season this October. Harden, Paul and Anthony have accomplished just about everything in this point in their careers, outside of winning a championship.

These guys are desperate for a ring and in order to beat a team like Golden State, they’ll be willing to make the needed sacrifices. Harden mentioned that he is desperate to get to the conference finals again, where his team fell short a few months ago, via Jonathan Feigen.

“That (winning the MVP) was a good feeling, but that feeling that I had in that Western Conference Finals, with basically one half to go, I need that feeling back. So I will try to work my butt off, and try to do as much as I can to get back to that feeling.

Adding Anthony should help get the Rockets back to the conference finals in 2019. Lets just pray that they can stay healthy this time around.

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