According to reports, the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded forward Carmelo Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks. The Thunder will receive point guard Dennis Schroder from Atlanta along with small forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from the Philadelphia 76ers. The Hawks are receiving a 2022 lottery protected first round pick from Oklahoma City, along with Anthony and forward Justin Anderson from Philadelphia. Atlanta will send center Mike Muscala to the Sixers.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news earlier today:
Oklahoma City has agreed to trade Carmelo Anthony and a protected 2022 first-round pick to Atlanta for point guard Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala, league sources tell ESPN. Anthony will be waived, and he will join team of his choice. Rockets are frontrunner.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 19, 2018
The Atlanta Hawks are reportedly planning to buyout Anthony, which would allow him to receive his full $27.9 million salary.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported this soon after the trade:
Anthony will get his entire $27.9M in the buyout and waiver with Hawks. It could take a few days to work thru logistics on trade. 'Melo met with Rockets and Heat in Las Vegas. Again, Rockets are the frontrunner. https://t.co/2rbDZ7vUu1
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 19, 2018
Report: Carmelo Anthony Traded to Atlanta Hawks as Part of Three-Team Deal
The Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be the frontrunners for Anthony once he officially hits the open market. He is good friends with both Rockets point guard Chris Paul and new Lakers forward LeBron James. The Rockets just lost Luc Mbah a Moute and Trevor Ariza in free agency, so Anthony would be able to help fill the sudden need Houston has on the wing.
Looking at the Future
As for the Hawks, the first round pick they will receive will help them in their rebuild. Andersen is a former first-round pick who still possesses some upside at age 24. It was no secret that Atlanta wanted to trade Schroder, as well. He still has three years left on his contract that pays him $15.5 million per season. While he is an effective player, Schroder only shot 29 percent from three last year and was arrested in September of 2017. The Hawks drafted Trae Young and traded for Jeremy Lin, signifying that they were ready to move on from Schroder.
Saving Money
The Thunder will save close to $100 million by offloading Anthony due to the luxury tax. Anthony is coming off of a down year, in which he averaged a career low 16.2 PPG. He also shot 40.4 percent from the field, which was another career low. Anthony was also relatively ineffective on defense. In Schroder, the Thunder get a really good backup point guard and sixth man. Luwawu-Cabarrot has some upside, as well. He is still 23 years old and could develop into a solid two way player, if his jumpshot continues to improve.
The Sixers give up two players, who would not of cracked their rotation, in Andersen and Luwawu-Cabarrot and receive Muscala who should give them quality minutes.
Main Photo
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – DECEMBER 7: Carmelo Anthony (L) of Oklahoma City Thunder in action against Allen Crabbe (R) of Brooklyn Nets during a NBA regular season game between Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma Thunder at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, Mexico on December 7, 2017. (Photo by Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
