Rockets: Mike D’Antoni says Carmelo Anthony is willing to come off bench

According to Mike D’Antoni, Carmelo Anthony has said that he is willing to come off of the bench and wants to do whats best for the Rockets.

Carmelo Anthony is finally an official member of the Houston Rockets. The star forward signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract on Monday.

Welcome to the @HoustonRockets @carmeloanthony – easy to find highlights for him! https://t.co/ZdjTc0xFmY

— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) August 13, 2018

The biggest concern about Houston adding Anthony is his willingness, or unwillingness, to accept a bench role. In the past, Anthony has quickly shut down any suggestions that he should come off of the bench. But now Anthony has seemed to come around to the idea of leading the second unit.

Mike D’Antoni said that Anthony is willing to do whatever is best for the team, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.

“Nothing’s been decided. He, like everyone else on the team, like Eric Gordon, ‘if that’s what’s best for the team, that’s what I’ll do. We’ll see what performs best. What makes the best rotation and how to get the best out of them. Whether he starts or doesn’t start, and he said it, is a moot point. We’ll make that decision as we go forward. Maybe he starts the game, maybe he doesn’t.

At times, Anthony has been unfairly branded as a selfish player. At this stage in Melo’s career, he just wants to win, and it doesn’t matter if he starts the game or not. D’Antoni hasn’t decided on his starting lineup, but when he does, there won’t be any eye rolls or hurt feelings amongst the players.

.@dmorey on @SportsTalk790: "It isn’t always about the starting role, it’s about how games are closed…Carmelo’s had an incredible approach in that he realizes he is joining a very successful team and he wants to be a big part in taking it to that final step in winning."

— Space City Scoop (@SpaceCity_Scoop) August 14, 2018

In order to beat the two-time defending champions, Mike D’Antoni knows that everyone has to be rowing in the same direction, via Jonathan Feigen.

“We had to make sure that everybody’s on the same page and he definitely, definitely is. We all have the same vision and want to get this thing done and beat probably the best team in NBA history. We can’t afford a misstep or take things for granted and say ‘we’ll work things out.’ When we talked about his vision and our vision and it matched up.”

Anthony just wants to play for a successful team. He doesn’t mind being a third or fourth option or even coming off of the bench, because if he did the Rockets wouldn’t have been on his radar in the first place.

I can’t wait for Carmelo Anthony to prove the critics wrong by having a strong season in Houston just like Chris Paul did a season ago.