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HOUSTON – Carmelo Anthony has completed his job in Houston.
Rockets chief executive Daryl Morey on Thursday issued a statement in which he said his team "was separating" from Anthony and "working on a resolution".
Anthony has played only 10 games with the Rockets after signing a one year contract and $ 2.4 million during the off season.
"Carmelo has had a great approach during his time with the Rockets and has accepted every role that head coach Mike D Antoni has entrusted to him," said Morey. "The crisis that we envisioned when Carmelo chose to sign with the Rockets did not materialize, so we thought it was better to move on because any other outcome would have been unfair to him. . "
Anthony was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks in July, before the Hawks released him to allow him to sign with the Rockets.
Houston star James Harden said he liked having Anthony on his team, but that decision was out of reach.
"He's a friend of mine – he's a great guy, a great teammate," Harden said. "It just did not work, it's part of the business."
Houston thought it could be the piece he would need to finally pbad Golden State and win his first title since two consecutive titles in 1994-1995. Instead, the Rockets had a 6-7 start and the emergence of unprepared rookie Gary Clark suggested that Anthony should play a lesser role.
In the end, the Rockets decided that it was better to move on than to force Anthony to do it.
"We just had to see how things were going," said Antoni. "And the way we play was probably not conducive to his play and he was trying to make the necessary sacrifices and it was not fair for him, as a Hall of Fame player, to play in a way that was not good for him, it was not good for us – it was just not a fit. "
The 34-year-old is a 10-time star player who has had some tough times in the past two seasons. He averaged 16.2 points in 78 starts during a tumultuous season for the Thunder last season before joining Houston – and accepting a reserve position for the first time in 16 years of career.
Eight of Anthony's 10 appearances for the Rockets were canceled after the start of his 1,054 games played in his first 15 seasons in the NBA.
Dr. Antoni said that he thought for Anthony that things were ending well and made it clear that it was not that Anthony did not have the good attitude in Houston.
"In the summer, we tried to do a circuit and it did not work," said Antoni. "He tried everything he could, he was great when he was here, it did not work for any reason, I thank him for his professionalism, he was good. everything tried to make it work and just did not work. "
The third overall pick in the 2003 draft was an average of 24 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 badists in a career that also included trips with the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks.
Anthony missed Houston's last three games with what the team called an illness. His last appearance for Houston was a loss to Oklahoma City on November 8, when he had two points and five rebounds.
Antoni expects the rest of the Rockets to behave professionally, but he knows it will be difficult.
"I'm sure they hate that," says Antoni. "There are good friends out there and there will be friendships, but it's all about business."
Anthony does not know what the next step is, but Chris Paul, who has known him for a long time, knows that he'll be fine.
"For Melo, he just has to be happy," Paul said. "So wherever it is or whatever the next step, he will realize it."
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