The 2017 NBA offseason feels like it happened roughly half a century ago, so it's easy to forget all of the possible trades and rumors that flew around over the summer — like the one that had Carmelo Anthony landing in Houston.
The former Knicks and current Thunder forward revealed before the season that a deal which would have sent Anthony to the Rockets "fell through" and forced him to open up his list of trade destinations. But Anthony didn't just see Chris Paul, James Harden and the rest of the Rockets as the best way out of a bad situation in New York. He envisioned a very successful future in Houston.
MORE: How the Rockets turned Chris Paul into James Harden 2.0
From ESPN's Ian Begley:
[Anthony had] been talking to friends about teaming up with Chris Paul and, eventually, LeBron James in Houston and how the Rockets could match up with the defending champion Golden State Warriors. He went as far as to detail individual matchups between that hypothetical Rockets team and the Warriors, surmising that he and the Rockets could take out the Warriors. For most of the offseason, Anthony was confident that the Knicks and Rockets would get a deal together.
James has discussed the hope of playing with Anthony, Paul and Dwyane Wade on one team before the four future Hall of Famers end their careers, so it's not surprising to see that the thought crossed Anthony's mind. There have been rumblings about the Rockets targeting James in free agency this summer as well, though Rockets general manager Daryl Morey would have to get very creative with his cap maneuvers in order to acquire another star, and it's difficult to imagine any situation where Morey also snags Anthony.
Despite that Knicks-Rockets trade falling apart, Anthony did end up playing alongside two stars in Russell Westbrook and Pal George in Oklahoma City. The Thunder continue to work through consistency issues, but it's still an improvement compared to his daily drama with the Knicks and Phil Jackson.
We'll have to file this one under the NBA's most interesting "What if?" scenarios.
