The Rockets' strange history with Carmelo Anthony just got stranger

When the Houston Rockets signed Carmelo Anthony, it didn't go well. He was past his prime. Now, an old rumor is resurfacing that suggests they almost got him at his peak.

Rockets folk hero Patrick Beverley just recounted the history. Interestingly, he said Anthony was considering joining the Rockets in the summer of 2014 but refused to play with Jeremy Lin. There's long been speculation of tension between the two, as Anthony was suggested to have been less than pleased by the Linsanity phenomenon.

It makes for a strange history between the player and organization. Anthony was always "supposed" to be a Rocket. By the time it finally happened, it was too late. It was akin to dating your high school crush in your 30s, only to find out...well, that they weren't your high school crush anymore.

What could have been if he'd joined in 2014?

Rockets could have contended with Carmelo Anthony

Well, during the 2014-15 season, after Anthony re-signed with the Knicks, he averaged 24.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Anthony had a 3.0 Box Plus/Minus. How does that compare to Lin?

There's a good chance that you already know the answer. During the same year, Lin averaged 11.2 points and 4.4 assists per game - for the Lakers. That's part of what makes Beverley's claims confusing. If there was a possibility that Lin was leaving the Rockets, one would think that would factor into Anthony's negotiations.

In any case, yes, adding Anthony could have helped the Rockets in 2014-15. As it stood, the team advanced to the Western Conference Finals with the star duo of James Harden and Dwight Howard. Who's to say that adding Anthony to the mix wouldn't have put them past the surging Warriors?

That said, Melo wasn't a notoriously easy player to play with. It's also possible that the Rockets wouldn't have clicked with him on the roster.

For what it's worth, that's exactly what happened when he eventually did join the team.

Carmelo Anthony's Rockets tenure was a disaster

Granted, that was 2018-19. Anthony was far past his prime, and it showed. Ultimately, he played just 10 games with the Rockets before hitting free agency (again).

Mostly, Anthony couldn't play the role the Rockets wanted. This was the Mike D'Antoni, three-point volume era Rockets. Anthony's habit of stepping into midrange jumpers rather than catching and shooting did not fit the system.

Perhaps that would have been a problem even in Anthony's prime, but the combined offensive talents and him and Harden, with Howard as a defensive anchor, would have been formidable. We'll never know what could have been:

We don't even fully understand how strange what happened was.