After losing two of their important, defensive-minded forwards during free agency this summer in Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, the Houston Rockets opted to address their departures by signing Carmelo Anthony.
Once one of the most lethal scorers on the planet, Anthony has seen his value take a significant hit, especially after his refusal to alter his role last season with the OKC Thunder. However now with a change of scenery in Houston, there are some firm believers in Anthony’s talents within the Rockets. In fact, reserve center Nene recently had some high praise for the Rockets’ latest roster addition. Nene says despite Anthony’s age, he still believes Melo is currently a top ten NBA player. Following from Fox 26’s Mark Berman:
.@NeneHilario42 on @carmeloanthony: “He can be whatever he wants to be. He’s talented. It doesn’t matter how old he is. When he commits to do the right thing and they use his talent, man get out of the way.Simple as that. For me he’s a top-10 player in the league, still” #Rockets
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) August 15, 2018
Though Carmelo Anthony was certainly a top ten player in the NBA for years during his prime, those days are now long gone and he will have to adapt as such.
Of course, Nene has a unique relationship with Anthony, as the pair were teammates and two of the key cogs for the Denver Nuggets from the early-to-mid 2000’s. Nene has seen Anthony at his peak first-hand and though he was an assassin early on with the Nuggets, Anthony has now reverted into much more of a role player as he enters his mid-30’s.
Regardless of his disappointing recent production, Anthony will be a vital piece of Houston’s formula next season. Whether he starts or comes off the bench remains up in the air but one thing is for certain, expectations for Anthony to produce next season on a title contender are sky-high.
