Carmelo Anthony traded to Hawks for Dennis Schröder, will be waived

The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Carmelo Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks for Dennis Schröder, Mike Muscala, and a 2022 protected first round pick.

OKC’s big three experiment is officially over according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and after just one year.

Carmelo Anthony was traded in a deal centered around Hawks point guard Dennis Schröder, and will be immediately waived with the Houston Rockets as frontrunners to sign Melo.

Mike Muscala will also be traded by the Thunder to a third team according to Adrian Wojnarowski, seemingly in order to save money on his $5 million. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2019 according to Sportrac.

UPDATE: According to Shams Charania, Muscala has been traded to the Philadelphia 76ers’ Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot going to the Thunder and the 76ers’ Justin Anderson going to the Hawks.

What the future now holds for Schroder remains to be seen, as in all likelihood he’ll take up Reggie Jackson’s old spot as the Thunder’s backup point guard. Schröder wanted to be more of a centerpiece on the Hawks which is part of the reason Teague was traded initially… Will he be comfortable settling back in as a backup?

Thunder GM Sam Presti and head coach Billy Donovan spoke with Schröder prior to the trade (after receiving permission) and both sides are said to be enthusiastic about the partnership. If there’s one thing for certain it’s that Schröder wanted off the Hawks, he unfollowed the Hawks on Instagram this year and deleted every Hawks-related post.

Schröder also told reporters in a press conference in Germany that he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his prime on a team second-to-last in the East.

Meanwhile, the deal will save the Thunder a handsome amount of money in salary and luxury tax to the tune of almost $100 million. Anthony was due $28 million for the rest of his contract compared to Schröder’s $15.5 million per year (he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2021). Anthony has already met with the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat but noticeably absent are the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Considering LeBron James’ friendship with Anthony, you’d have to think a meeting is at least a consideration. Not to mention Anthony and Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni are rumored to have never have had the best relationship. Will Anthony be interested to give a newer, more refined version of the system with out? Chris Paul, one of Anthony’s pals will certainly have a lot of sway over the decision, though on the Heat side you have Anthony’s friend Dwyane Wade as well.

Anthony might also potentially experience a resurgence on another team much like Victor Oladipo. Melo’s only one year removed from averaging 22.4 points per game over with the New York Knicks. The Thunder will more closely resemble their Durant iteration with Paul George replacing Durant and Schröder replacing Jackson.