If you listen to any major media outlet, Carmelo Anthony will be a Net, Knick or Bull by the end of this weekend. And that's it. The rumor is that his wife, LaLa Vasquez Anthony, is pushing really hard for him to only join a so-called "Major Media Market." Yeah, never heard that one before. But something that has never went away is your Houston Rockets as a possibility.
No matter if their name is buried at the end of each article and update in the "Melo-Drama," it has consistently been there. Albeit they continually get declared a "Long shot," but their name remains nonetheless. But all we hear is crickets from Polk St. in downtown Houston. Which isn't surprising. Every move that Daryl Morey has made in the past has either come out of left field or was just way off from what everyone was expecting.
So why does their name keep coming up in an and all trade rumors involving the disgruntled Denver Forward? Let's take a look after the jump...
When you listen to the Denver Nuggets demands for 'Melo, it's hard not to see a fit with Houston. The Rockets trade assets have been well documented, so I won't go over them for the 187th time. But when Denver says they are wanting "Draft picks, cap relief and a young asset or two," it's hard not to think Daryl has that to offer and more, if needed. And for those concerned about a one year rental of Carmelo, beat writer Jonathan Feigen said as recently as Wednesday that he has still been told by several sources that he would be open to signing an extension here. So that shouldn't be a bump in the road.
We also know now that the team has absolutely no interest of using Kevin Martin as a trade chip. Which I personally think is a good decision and I know Tom agrees with me. However, if that's what it took to get the deal done, I wouldn't shed any tears about it. But I digress.
According to everyone in the NBA news world, the Knicks are definitely Anthony's preferred destination. But everyone and their grandmother knows they don't have squat to deal for him. They would certainly have to get a third team involved and even then it would likely take a GM more savvy than Donnie Walsh to get that deal done. The same Donnie Walsh who is publicly admitting that he got his ass handed to him by Daryl Morey at last years trade deadline.
The Nets have the trade chips to get the deal done, but the rumor is that Anthony won't commit to signing an extension with them so a possible deal is on hold. Then you got the Bulls, who certainly have the pieces to make a deal. But they aren't willing to part with big man Joakim Noah, who the Nuggets say they won't make the deal without.
So my question is why we aren't hearing more about the Rockets than just a mention at the end of each major media article that says "Houston and the Clippers are also a slight possibility." Is it just stonewalling from the media because Houston isn't on the East or West Coast? Is it because they aren't as flashy as Chicago? Or is Houston just not making as hard of a push to get the deal done?
Let's just say that I would love to be a fly on the wall in Daryl Morey's office this weekend when a deal possibly gets made.