As The Hoop Doctors’ own Ryan Bawek discussed on Wednesday, the Houston Rockets are trying to get a third star to pair with James Harden and Chris Paul. Carmelo Anthony and Paul George are two names that have been floated, and they’re not going anywhere.
Why, you ask?
Because the Rockets basically think they’ve already guaranteed themselves one of them, per ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon:
Source on Rockets: "They think they are getting Carmelo or Paul George."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 28, 2017
A reunion between Melo and Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is exactly what the NBA needs. Except, not really. Anthony might help the Rockets a little bit, because he’s more switch-friendly on defense than Ryan Anderson. But he’s a bad defender overall, and getting Olympics Melo only succeeds in drumming up the value of an offense that doesn’t need a boon.
No matter, though. Anthony is, in fact, the less likely of these two candidates. The Knicks won’t even think about buying him out unless he passes on the last year of his contract (early termination option), and the Rockets aren’t going to obliterate their core to trade for him.
It seems odd to say George is the more realistic possibility, but it’s true. The Indiana Pacers still don’t have a ton of leverage in trade talks, and if the Rockets pair Eric Gordon with two future firsts or are able to reroute Ryan Anderson to a third team that sends the Pacers what they’re looking for, general manager Daryl Morey will have beaten a lot of other offers.
Will Houston ultimately land one of these two? We’re not sure. But the Melo-CP3 link remains strong, per ESPN.com’s Ian Begley:
FWIW: Chris Paul was telling people a few days ago that he hoped to play with Carmelo Anthony. https://t.co/KFYtMWczIu
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 28, 2017
Maybe this is enough for Anthony to fork over queen and country in buyout negotiations. Maybe the Rockets find a workable deal for George that the Pacers accept, at least in part, out of spite for the All-Star wing’s preference to play with the Los Angeles Lakers. There’s a lot going on here, and we’ve only reached the tip of the iceberg. The NBA offseason is already wild, and it’s about to crazier.
