Carmelo Anthony has been traded to Atlanta, but don't expect to see him suiting up for the Hawks next season.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to trade Melo and a protected 2022 first-round pick to the Hawks in exchange for point guard Dennis Schroder. Additionally, Atlanta's Mike Muscala will be sent to the Philadelphia 76ers, who will send Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to OKC, and Justin Anderson to Atlanta, according to Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania.
Wojnarowski notes that Anthony will be waived, making him free to sign with a team of his choosing. As has been reported for much of the offseason, it is believed that the Houston Rockets are the front runner to land the 34-year old forward once he is eligible to sign.
As ESPN's Bobby Marks explains:
"Oklahoma City was able to accomplish two things by trading Carmelo Anthony to Atlanta, improve the roster while saving $73M this season. The Thunder will now see their projected luxury tax bill drop from $150M to $88.8M, a savings of $62M. In addition, Oklahoma City will save an additional $11M in salary savings with the Dennis Schroder $15.5M contract and the $1.5M cap hit of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot."
As for Schroder, it has been rumored for quite some time that his days in Atlanta were numbered, especially after the team traded for veteran point guard Jeremy Lin just days after selecting Trae Young in the NBA Draft. Back in May, the 24-year old point guard stressed the need to play for a contender, telling reporters that he "cannot be second to last in the Eastern Conference." Now he'll join Russell Westbrook and Paul George on a team that finished fourth in the Western Conference last season with a 48-34 record, a far cry from the Hawks, who finished last in the East at 24-58.
In 67 games last season, Schroder averaged a career-best 19.4 points per game, in addition to 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds.
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