On Monday afternoon the Houston Rockets agreed to trade Carmelo Anthony (plus cash) to the Chicago Bulls, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, ending a run with Houston most everyone saw coming anyway:
Due to it being Martin Luther King Day, the trade won't yet be made official, but that's very likely to be rectified by Tuesday. Wojnarowski also wrote that the Rockets' perspective on this is that they wanted to clear a roster spot for Kenneth Faried, who recently had his contract bought out by the Nets:
If it seems weird that the 11-36 Bulls would trade for the 34-year-old Anthony, that's probably because it is. Woj adds that Melo will never lace up his sneakers for Chicago, and that they'll release him. If he clears waivers then, BOOM!, he'll be a free agent...which may intrigue many teams (keyword may):
Woj adds that the Bulls may wait until the league's trade deadline (a.k.a. February 7) to officially waive Anthony, though he ain't wearing a Chicago uniform regardless. Woj pegs the Lakers as a potential destination (which isn't the first time that idea's been floated) should they be able to clear space on their roster. Anthony, who was an All-Star as recently as the 2016-17 season when he was a member of the Knicks, has not played for Houston since November 8, 2018. In 10 games this year, just two of which he started, he had averages of 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.
Sources: The Lakers maintain interest in Anthony, but do not want to waive a guaranteed player to create a roster spot for him, league sources tell ESPN. If a roster spot eventually opens with LA, yes, the Lakers are a possible destination for Anthony.
