Carmelo Anthony is in the process of finalizing a contract with the Rockets, and many have wondered how there will be enough shots to go around for him, James Harden and Chris Paul. As it turns out, Houston may have a surprising plan for Carmelo.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that the Rockets are expected to bring Anthony off the bench this upcoming season. That is noteworthy because Carmelo indicated earlier this offseason that he is not willing to give up starting.
Melo asked about possibly coming off the bench: "I'm not sacrificing no bench role. So that's out of the question."
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 28, 2018
Anthony was still with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the time he made that comment, so perhaps he meant he was not willing to take on a lesser role with them. The 34-year-old has started in every game he has played during his 15-year NBA career.
The Rockets have three definite starters in Harden, Paul and center Clint Capela. If Anthony comes off the bench, Ryan Anderson and P.J. Tucker are likely to start at the two forward spots.
Anthony met with Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni and GM Daryl Morey over the summer, and he wouldn’t agree to sign with Houston if he wasn’t comfortable with the situation. Even if he’s not on the floor to start games, he will still get plenty of minutes. Judging by what D’Antoni recently said about the upcoming season, it’s safe to conclude he has a vision for Anthony that he believes is going to work.
