Carmelo Anthony will not be an Oklahoma City Thunder player next season after they recently agreed to part ways.ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Royce Young reported that the two parties are working together to finalise either a trade or a buyout to get him off the books.There are multiple teams interested in acquiring the 34-year-old and with a departure from OKC imminent, he's already had discussions with some of them.According to Wojnarowski, the Thunder have given Anthony permission to meet with the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and other teams.Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweeted that a Rockets contingent of Chris Paul, head coach Mike D'Antoni and owner Tilman Fertitta were sat with Melo's manager during a Summer League game recently.
Second time of asking
Houston is considered to be his preferred destination and they are the favourites to secure his signature as soon as he departs Oklahoma.
Marc Stein of the New York Times wrote that "a precise timetable for how quickly Anthony can secure his exit from Oklahoma City, most likely via buyout, is not yet clear. But, at this point, it would be a full-fledged surprise if he doesn't wind up with the Rockets."
The Texas-based franchise had a strong interest in bringing Carmelo on board last season but they were unable to conclude a trade with the New York Knicks.
The 10-time All-Star informed the Knicks that he wanted to be traded to Houston and was willing to waive his no-trade clause to move there.
But a deal never materialised and he instead accepted a move to the Thunder after New York accepted their proposal.
After a poor season with OKC, however, he was always unlikely to stay on. But his decision to opt into his $28.9 million contract made things harder for the organisation.
They'll now have to buy him out and get rid of his huge salary to reduce their large payroll which will exceed $300 million if he stays.
A move to Houston now seems inevitable and according to Woj, they are determined to add the small forward after losing both Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in free agency.
Last season's Western Conference finalists need more scoring outside of Paul and James Harden and believe Anthony will be the best guy to provide that.
He is, however, coming off his worst season in the NBA, averaging 16.2 points on 40.4 percent shooting.
The three-time Olympic Gold Medalist struggled as the third option behind Russell Westbrook and Paul George with the Thunder so it will be interesting to see if he'll find this role any easier in H-Town.
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