Carmelo Anthony’s time with the Houston Rockets is over, but the Charlotte Hornets should not look to sign the 10x All-Star.
Reports surfaced yesterday that Carmelo Anthony and the Houston Rockets are parting ways just 14 games into the season. Should the Charlotte Hornets target the 34-year old future Hall of Famer? I think not.
On paper, he may be a nice fit starting or coming off the bench at the four position. However, as the past few seasons have shown, he doesn’t contribute much to winning anymore, and plays a style of basketball that doesn’t fit with James Borrego and the Charlotte Hornets.
Carmelo is already being recruited by Puerto Rico’s national team, and should have some interest around the NBA, so it’s going to be interesting to see where he ends up once he becomes a free agent.
Here are three reasons why the Charlotte Hornets should avoid signing Carmelo Anthony.
Houston Rockets Carmelo Anthony (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
Not a fit in the offense
Carmelo Anthony may be one of the best offensive players in the history of basketball, but there’s a reason why he has struggled to fit in with his teams over the years. His ball stopping ways have halted teams ball movement to a point where it is ugly to watch.
He has slowly declined over the years and it makes you wonder, how much more does he have in the tank? If he doesn’t change his style or at least show some desire to change his style, he may not be in the league very much longer.
Since hiring James Borrego as Head Coach, the Hornets have done an excellent job of moving the ball around and generating open looks off of that movement. When Carmelo gets the ball, things sort of just stop and everyone seems to be standing around waiting.
The Hornets rank eighth in assists and fourth in points created off assists. Those are impressive numbers.
Also, he’s just not making enough shots when he’s on the court. He’s shooting 40 percent from the field, the second worst mark of his career, 32 percent from three-point land, and a career-low 68 percent from the foul line.