The Rockets issued a somewhat unusual press release on Thursday, announcing that they were parting ways with Carmelo Anthony. While the announcement contained much of the same language that a typical press release on a waived player would, GM Daryl Morey said in his statement that the club is still “working toward a resolution” on the situation. In other words, “parted ways” isn’t actually a euphemism for “waived” in this case — Anthony is still technically on Houston’s roster, just not with the team.
While it may seem odd for the Rockets not to just request waivers on Anthony today and move on from the situation entirely, there are a handful of reasons why it makes sense for the team to hold off on such a move.
For one, waiving Carmelo could lead to an unfavorable outcome for either the Rockets or Anthony — if he goes unclaimed on waivers, Houston would be on the hook for his entire salary and the tax penalties that will come along with it. On the other hand, if Anthony is claimed off waivers, taking his contract off the Rockets’ books, he could end up being acquired by a team he has no interest in joining, eliminating his ability to pick his new club.
Although most players go unclaimed on waivers, Anthony’s contract is pretty claim-friendly. As we detailed on Thursday, the league’s waiver rules allow any team to use the minimum salary exception to place a claim on a player who is on a one-year, minimum salary contract. Only the Thunder and Hawks would face restrictions on Anthony, since they recently traded him and bought him out, respectively. Any other club could theoretically put in a claim.
Finding a trade partner willing to take on Anthony would be the easiest way to avoid waivers altogether and to create a win-win situation for the team and the player. The Rockets could send Anthony to a team he’s interested in joining and clear his contract from their cap at the same time, reducing their tax bill.
Meanwhile, Anthony’s new team wouldn’t have to match salaries, since Carmelo’s contract could be absorbed using the minimum salary exception. That team could also essentially give up nothing for the veteran forward – perhaps just a top-55 protected second-round pick – and might even be able to convince the Rockets to include a little cash, since Houston would still come out ahead by avoiding Anthony’s tax hit.
Unfortunately for the Rockets, NBA rules prevent Anthony from being traded for about another month, since players who sign as free agents in the offseason can’t be dealt until at least December 15. So if Houston hopes to go the trade route, it will be at least a few weeks before the situation is resolved.
Even if the Rockets can’t eventually find a trade partner for Anthony, there’s one more reason why it makes sense for the team to exercise some patience. Houston is currently carrying 14 players on its NBA roster, the league-mandated minimum. If the team dips down to 13 players, it would have two weeks to add a 14th man. So as soon as the Rockets release Anthony, that clock starts ticking.
With Anthony’s salary already locked in, barring a waiver claim, the Rockets aren’t increasing their projected tax bill by keeping him on the roster a few extra days or weeks. However, if they waived him, then had to sign another player within the next two weeks, that new player’s contract would help push the club’s tax bill higher.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Can’t wait for the next chapter in this horrible novel.
come back to the knicks, I know that’s where your heart is at
Spurs need a third option behind Aldridge and DeRozan, he would be perfect and he wouldn’t need to be a spot up shooter for the Spurs the same way Mike and Billy tried to use him.
He’s like the least ‘Spurs’ player ever
In this case don’t much care for Houston, not very classy get rid of him so soon, without a fair chance, but I really hope Melo gets what he wants & can be happy, at this point in his career all should be about been were he is happy, his legacy is well set by now.
I don’t think it’s Houston not being classy, I think it’s the opposite actually. I don’t think Melo sees his role there as one that works for him, and I don’t think the Rockets want to leave him with the indignity of being cut. They’re giving Melo time to find a better situation, and whether trade, waiver claim or release, Melo will decide and end up where he wants to go next.
Yeah, as I mentioned in the post, besides the indignity of being cut, there’s also the possibility that being waived could lead to Anthony being claimed by a team he doesn’t want to go to. So I don’t think the Rockets are just looking out for themselves and being jerks here.
Great article breaking down the various reasons for keeping him on the team for now. Thank you.
To think this all could have been avoided if the Rockets realized what every other person with half a brain did, that Melo wasn’t a fit at all in Houston’s system. It’s really mind blowing how dumb some of these guys running multi million dollar teams are. What an unnecessary self inflicted mess this is for the Rockets and Melo.
Melo is good friends with CP3 and Harden, and they recruited him. The Rockets needed another F, so they took a chance on a future Hall of Famer. Most people didn’t think CP3 and Harden would work, but the coaching staff and those 2 playera made it work. The problem here is A) Melo only wants to play the way Melo wants to play B) he has aged quickly over the past 3 seasons, and C) the Rockets are all about analytics, and the team plays significantly better with Melo on the bench.
Bottom line is they paid hardly anything (in NBA terms) on a chance, and it failed. As a fan I would rather see them try and fail, than to not try at all.
Thanks for explaining all of this
The only thing Carmelo has succeeded at in the last few years is making me want one of those damn candy bars.
The real question is: Is there a team that Carmelo would want to go to that actual wants him? He doesn’t exactly have the best track record for being a team player & I can’t see too many contenders wanting to upset their chemistry by adding CarMElo
I doubt it. I don’t see how any team that’s half way decent want to take a chance on the losing/drama to the team he always seems to bring. I’m not even exactly sure, but what ever team he’s on is always worse with him than without him.