Carmelo Anthony is expected to hit the free agent market soon, as the Oklahoma City Thunder are reportedly working on either a buyout or a stretching of his contract. Once the 34-year old forward is officially free to sign with another team, it is believed he'll draw interest from a number of teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets "plan to ramp up a pursuit of Carmelo Anthony," after free agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute agreed to a one-year, $4.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Trevor Ariza reached a one-year $15 million deal with the Phoenix Suns.
Furthermore, Yahoo Sports' Jordan Schultz reports that Chris Paul is encouraging the Rockets to sign his good friend Carmelo, and ESPN's Dave McMenamin says Melo's business manager recently spent time with Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni and team owner Tilman Fertitta. D'Antoni and Anthony didn't see eye to eye during their time with the New York Knicks but the coach "would be fine with Anthony coming to Houston," according to Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post.
Last season, his first with the OKC Thunder, Anthony averaged 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
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