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Carmelo Anthony has verbally agreed to join the Rockets

By Michael Knight

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 4: Carmelo Anthony addresses the crowd during the 2018 NBA Africa Game as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa on August 4, 2018 at the Time Square Sun Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 4: Carmelo Anthony addresses the crowd during the 2018 NBA Africa Game as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa on August 4, 2018 at the Time Square Sun Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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At long last, Melo is now on the Houston Rockets. They have tried time and time again to secure him and they finally have.

The Houston Rockets are now officially committed to signing the former All-Star Carmelo Anthony. They have pursued him multiple times over the years and have finally locked him down on a one-year deal.

This comes after the Rockets were really the only destination being discussed for the forward’s talents. He is coming off of a tough year in which he didn’t fit well in Oklahoma City on either end of the court. He struggled which led to him being traded this offseason and eventually bought out by the Atlanta Hawks.

Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports was the first to report this news of Melo verbally committing. Carmelo Anthony has been in Africa where he opened up a basketball court and attended the NBA Africa Game.

Carmelo Anthony has verbally agreed to sign with the Houston Rockets, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 7, 2018

The fit

The Rockets are hoping that he is a better fit in their system. This updated offensive system of Mike D’Antoni is different than the one that Melo had in New York during their time together. This one is a little more isolation based and slower, as opposed to his old 7-seconds or less offense. That should be more up Anthony’s style.

Last year, the Thunder never really gave him a role that fit into his style of play. That led to him having career-lows in multiple key statistics. Coming to Houston, he should know that he will have more open shots than ever before playing with two Hall of Fame level playmakers. Last season, though he struggled, he still managed to shoot over 40% on wide open 3s. The Rockets will definitely need that with the departure of Trevor Ariza.

Defensively, Melo has to know that if he isn’t defending, he won’t play at the end of games. Houston is such a well-constructed and deep team that having Melo is a good thing, but not a necessary one. If his shot isn’t falling and he isn’t playing defense, D’Antoni shouldn’t be afraid to take him out of the game.

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Overall, this is an exciting day for Rockets fans. We have been waiting quite a while for Melo to join the squad, and he’s finally here.

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