Carmelo Anthony's days with the Houston Rockets reportedly are numbered.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday, citing league sources, that the Rockets are "moving toward waiving Anthony in the near future." Anthony isn't the top-tier player he used to be, and his defense leaves a lot to be desired, but he's still a good scorer and can stretch the floor with competent outside shooting. He also would bring 72 games of playoff experience to a contending team.
With Anthony likely to be a free agent soon, here are four teams that should consider signing him for the rest of the season.
Golden State Warriors
This one's obvious, right? Anthony has great career stats, one of the most impressive Olympic resumes in history and an NCAA championship. The one accolade he doesn't have is an NBA championship, and there's no better place for him to chase a ring than Golden State. The Warriors don't have the same depth they did a few years ago, and their bench currently ranks 28th in the league with 31.4 points scored per game. His scoring (currently 13.4 points per game) would be valuable, and the Warriors' winning, veteran-laden culture should be able to absorb his ego without any major issues. Golden State probably is the best spot for Anthony.
Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers, even after acquiring Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, still need a lot more shooting, and Anthony can help address that weakness. The Sixers rank 22nd in 3-point field goal percentage, and only Furkan Korkmaz is shooting above 35 percent from deep. Anthony is a career 34.7 percent 3-point shooter, and could receive a lot of open looks from the perimeter when defenses focus most of their attention on stopping Butler, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Boston Celtics
Miami Heat
The Heat average the seventh-fewest bench minutes in the league. Miami also ranks 19th in bench field goal percentage and 17th in bench 3-point percentage. Josh Richardson (20.5) and Goran Dragic (16.7) are the only Heat players scoring more than 15 points per game, so there's clearly a need in South Beach for another proven scorer. Let's not forget Anthony is good friends with Heat guard Dwyane Wade, too. Miami is 5-8 in an Eastern Conference that has proven to be more competitive than many predicted, so rolling the dice on 'Melo might be worth the risk.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers don't have a lot of dependable veterans on the wing, and they rank 19th in bench scoring. Anthony is a better outside shooter than Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and is even shooting 3-pointers at a higher success rate than LeBron James this season. Anthony and James know each other well, and whether it's starting or leading the second unit, 'Melo should be able to find a role in Los Angeles.