Carmelo Anthony To Remain With Rockets Despite Reports

Struggling Houston Rockets forward Carmelo Anthony will remain with the team despite reports that he was to be waived soon.

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Rockets general Manager Daryl Morey denied a report that Anthony had been informed that he would be waived,calling the report “inaccurate” and the scrutiny of Anthony’s play “unfair”.

“It’s unfair that there’s all this speculation on just one person,” Morey said. “I understand it, he’s obviously a Hall of Famer, but it’s unfair.”

The Rockets, following an offseason of soaring expectations, have descended to a pedestrian 5-7 start to the season. With Anthony’s acquisition in the offseason, the Rockets looked to bolster their high-octane shooting attack, to no avail. He’s averaging career-lows of 29.4 minutes and 13.4 points per game, but Morey finds that many of the problems lie in other facets of the team.

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“I know that we’re talking about everything,” he said. “We’re a team trying to win the championship and we’re (5-7) and we’re not in a good place so we’re looking at everything. We’re looking at all aspects right now.”

Amid the reports, the Rockets answered back with a win over the Indiana Pacers. James Harden had a season-high 40 points, paired with a cool 26 from point guard Chris Paul, who showed support for Anthony, his teammate and friend.

“Melo’s been great here. That’s like a brother to me,” said Paul. “I don’t know what’s being said or whatnot, but Melo’s been great working hard every day.”

The third of the “banana boat” squad, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade had more incendiary words for Houston’s handling of the Melo situation. “Trying to make my guy @carmeloanthony the fall guy huh!?” Wade tweeted on Sunday. “Man Y’all need to stop. That’s the easy way out instead of addressing what the real problem.”

The Rockets have yet to release Anthony. They play the Nuggets Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. EST.

Article by Red Young