In a move that will save them more than the GDP of a small country, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Carmelo Anthony will part ways. Here are the specifics.
In a move that’s as sad as it is unsurprising, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Carmelo Anthony are working towards a mutual separation, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
As per Woj, it’s not clear at this time whether the divorce will come via trade or waive and stretch, with the possibility that Melo may take a few dollars off the top if the latter option is selected. Even if he doesn’t accept a penny less than he’s owed, thanks to the NBA’s escalating scale of tax penalties for teams that exceed the cap, a waive an stretch will save the Thunder approximately $90 million dollars.
Anthony has a no-trade clause, but with any acquiring team almost certain to waive him upon completion of the deal, it’s a safe bet that he won’t be exercising it after years of holding it over the head of the former employer Phil Jackson, the man who inexplicably handed it to him four years ago.
The speculation will immediately begin that one way or another, Melo will find a way to play with one of his banana boat buddies, whether it’s LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers or Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets. The latter would represent the culmination of a dance that began nearly a year ago, when the New York Knicks had a deal in place with the Rockets that was put on hold and ultimately squashed after general manager Scott Perry was hired.
On Oklahoma City’s end, the only team that could potentially accept Melo’s entire $27.9 million salary without sending back any money is the Chicago Bulls, who would surely want to extract an asset for the right to use their space as a dumping ground. The Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and maybe the Dallas Mavericks are the only other teams with enough space to send a player back for Anthony that would still give the Thunder the financial relief they’d require.
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Regardless of where he goes and the method by which he ends up there, this represents a sad chapter in the career of a once great scorer, if never the type of complete player his initial promise portended. It’s hard to imagine that even Anthony’s most ardent critics could have predicted this is how his partnership with Oklahoma City would end, especially given the love fest that occurred when it began.
Only one thing could possibly take the sting out of a transaction that will no doubt wound the pride of a player whose opinion of himself was never lacking: a ring.