Report: Rockets' players, coaches believe Carmelo Anthony has played final game with team

Yash Matange

Report: Rockets' players, coaches believe Carmelo Anthony has played final game with team image

According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, several Houston Rockets players and members of the coaching staff believe that Carmelo Anthony has played his final game for the team. 


This comes just a day after New York Times' Marc Stein reported that the former All-Star and the franchise are expected to part ways. 


At the time of writing, Anthony has now missed the team's last two games (vs. Indiana and at San Antonio) after an 18-point beatdown in Oklahoma City. The reason for his absence was announced to be an "illness". ESPN's Tim MacMahon further reported that Anthony is set to miss the team's game against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. 


MORE: D-Wade says Melo not to blame for Rockets' struggles

If the game against the Thunder was indeed his last, Anthony did not have a great one. In the loss, he had 2 points on 1-of-11 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench. The reports and drama surrounding Anthony in Houston began when ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that both parties (Melo and the Rockets) were in talks to discuss his future role with the team.


Franchise general manager Daryl Morey did meet the press before the Pacers game to address these reports.

"One of the reasons I'm here, besides its 10 games in, about, is I think there's just a lot of unfair, like, rumors and everything going around about him," Morey said of the speculation surrounding Anthony.

"He's been great with us. As Coach [Mike D'Antoni] said yesterday, his approach has been great. He's accepted every role Coach has given him -- starting, off the bench, whatever it's been. We're struggling as a team, and it's my job, it's Coach's job to figure this thing out. But from guy one to guy 15 - and I'll put myself in there; a lot of this is on me right now -- we're not playing well. We've just got to figure it out. We're evaluating everything."

So far, in the 2018-19 season through 10 games, Anthony is averaging a career-low 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds on 40.5% shooting and 32.8% from beyond the arc. 

Yash Matange

Yash Matange Photo