The Atlanta Hawks traded for Carmelo Anthony less than a week ago. Now it seems, Anthony is closing in on the next step of his career.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hawks have finalized their buyout with Anthony, which will allow the former All-Star to soon enter free agency. Anthony has long been expected to sign with the Houston Rockets once he officially enters the free-agent player pool.
Here’s more from Wojnarowski (via Twitter) on Anthony’s buyout:
Carmelo Anthony has finalized buyout with the Atlanta Hawks, giving back $2.4M of his $27.9M salary, league sources tell ESPN. That’s veteran’s minimum he’ll get back with new team. Anthony will wait to clear waivers in 48 hours to officially tell Rockets of intentions to sign.
Wojnarowski also reports the Hawks are expected to place Anthony on waivers “within the hour.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder dealt the former All-Star Anthony to the Hawks on July 25 in exchange for guard Dennis Schroder in a three-team deal also involving the Philadelphia 76ers. As part of the deal, the Hawks receive Anthony, Justin Anderson from the 76ers and a protected 2022 first-round pick from the Thunder. The Thunder also receive Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from Philadelphia, while the Sixers receive Hawks big man Mike Muscala.
Talk of the trade broke a few weeks ago, as Oklahoma City was working to move Anthony to save on its luxury tax bill for next season. The Hawks reportedly will buyout Anthony’s contract, which will make him an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers.
Marc Stein of The New York Times reported on Monday that Anthony plans to sign with the Houston Rockets once he is officially a free agent.
The 34-year-old Anthony had been the headliner his entire career — he’s 19th in NBA history with 25,417 points — but he was more of a catch-and-shoot scorer last season instead of the isolation specialist he had always been. He averaged 16.2 points per game, but struggled at times in his new role. His playing time dwindled in the playoffs and he wasn’t happy. In Game 6 of the first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz that ended Oklahoma City’s season, he played fewer minutes than backup Jerami Grant.
After the season, he said he preferred to play with the ball in his hands more and said coming off the bench is “out of the question.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
