The Houston Rockets are still exploring ways to acquire Carmelo Anthony, and one of their former head coaches wonders if the team is making a mistake.
In an interview with Marc Berman the New York Post over the weekend, Jeff Van Gundy questioned why the Rockets seem to be determined to add more offense when they were second in the NBA in scoring last year and had “defined roles” under Mike D’Antoni.
“The Chris Paul trade, there’s going to be some ups and downs, but they’re better equipped to win in the playoffs,” Van Gundy said. “Particularly if Harden has a bad night, they still have a superior player to play through. Their improvement is going to have to be defensively.
“So I’m interested in the Carmelo thing. I don’t necessarily see it as a natural fit. He’s a very good player, yet they don’t need help offensively. They were a fabulous offensive team. I’m interested to see if it happens and who’s involved if it does happen. I don’t necessarily see the fit.”
Van Gundy noted that veteran forward Ryan Anderson struggled defending pick-and-rolls last season, so he wonders if the Rockets see Anthony as an upgrade there.
“Unfortunately, what they need to combat Golden State is a two-way Hall of Fame-caliber player, and they got one in Paul,” he said. “So Anthony certainly is a Hall of Fame player, but whether he gives them great defensive versatility. … It is where Ryan Anderson struggled, in pick-and-rolls. So maybe Anthony will be more versatile defensively than Anderson, and maybe that’s the upgrade there.”
Van Gundy’s opinion is shared by plenty of people. The Rockets ended up losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the postseason because they couldn’t get any stops — not because they weren’t putting up points. Anthony has never been seen as an excellent defender, and it doesn’t help that he’s getting older.
The most interesting thing to watch if Anthony joins the Rockets will be his relationship with D’Antoni. Given what D’Antoni recently said about his previous time coaching Carmelo, it’s interesting that the two are open to a reunion.
