Gerald Green says Rockets will welcome Carmelo Anthony with ‘open arms’

Gerald Green says that the Houston Rockets will welcome Carmelo Anthony with open arms. He also believes that Anthony will be a great fit in Houston.

Carmelo Anthony hasn’t signed an official contract with the Rockets yet, but it sounds like some of the players on Houston’s roster can’t wait to get him on the team. Despite a few raised eyebrows from NBA analysts, Gerald Green is sure that Anthony is going to fit well with Houston, according to Ashish Mathur of Amico Hoops.

“I’m loving it, I really am. We’re adding a proven player, a future Hall-of-Famer. I don’t really think he’s ever had a point guard like Chris Paul before. I don’t think he’s played with a scorer, not like James Harden before. It’s gonna work. I want him to be Melo.”

After Melo struggled with the Thunder last season, many well-intentioned critics have questioned Houston’s fondness of Anthony. After all, Anthony averaged career lows in points and field goal percentage, and his defense has regressed, too.

But Anthony often looked like he was just thrown into Oklahoma City’s plans last season. If you remember, Anthony wanted to join Houston last summer, but after the Knicks and Rockets failed to agree on a trade, Melo accepted a deal that sent him to OKC.

Anthony will fit in with Houston for the same reason that Chris Paul did last year: he wants to make it work. For the entire summer of 2017, analysts and fans alike wondered how two high usage players like Paul and James Harden could share the ball.

But Harden and Paul’s ultimate goal was to win a championship, not compete with each other for touches. So they both made the necessary adjustments in order to effectively co-exist on the floor.

Anthony knows that he’ll get fewer touches with the Rockets than with a lesser team and he has bumped heads with coach Mike D’Antoni in the past. Yet, he still wants to play in Houston. Outside of joining Golden State, the Rockets are Anthony’s best shot at a championship, and he’s going to do his best to make this partnership work.

When Anthony eventually signs on the dotted line, Gerald Green knows that Houston will welcome him with open arms, via Ashish Mathur.

“I think the Rockets are going to accept him with open arms just like they accepted me. If they accepted me and I ain’t did nothing, believe me, we’re gonna accept Melo. Houston’s going to embrace him. We know we have that chance to win a championship. We want to run it back.”

The Rockets were within one game of the NBA Finals last year, and as Green said, they want to get back to the conference finals for another shot. Now that they’ve re-signed Paul and Clint Capela and added Anthony, it looks like Houston will get that opportunity.