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Less than 10 months after renounced his non-exchange clause to leave the city that never sleeps for the city Carmelo Anthony may be on the move again. 59003] Thunder 's front office is working on a way to part with the All – Star on 10 occasions, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski and Royce Young of ESPN. The only questions that remain are how, when and how much will it cost.
Some might see the eventual departure of Anthony as an addition by subtraction. But is this really the case?
The starting lineup of Russell Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Paul George, Steven Adams and Anthony was over-14.1 points per 100 possessions last season. During a sequence of 21-8, highly discussed, the net odds climbed to over 24.5
Of course, both Thunder All-Stars will increase the number of any training . But the Thunder won, and Anthony played a role in that as the third scorer who opened the floor for others. Saying that he has never worked at the OKC is not accurate
However, the wheels began to take off in February
After the break from the match of the stars Anthony was shattered and never recovered. His score slipped to 13.7 points per game on 38 percent shooting. The Thunder found success by finishing the alignments with Anthony on the bench. In a late-season game against Denver, Melo chose to stay on the bench and allow Jerami Grant to finish the fourth quarter, as coach Billy Donovan told reporters after the match.
It became a point of exhibition in Utah. While Westbrook and George were both fighting at points in the series, Anthony could not bail them out. He plugged in just 21.4 percent of his three-point attempts, and the Jazz has been looking for it in defense. He had a heated debate with badistant coach Maurice Cheeks while he was on the bench during the Thunder's historic comeback in Game 5.
Rick Bowmer / Associated Press
These moments led to Melo's exit interview . ] heard around the world – and the image that sticks to the fans in the end.
But all was not bad. And if the results of the playoffs had been different, there might be more willingness on both sides to go back. But Anthony is unhappy, and the core of the Thunder, Westbrook, Adams, George and Grant is stuck for at least the next three seasons (Grant is the only one with a player option for the third year). In the absence of free agency clouds on the horizon, it is less urgent to try to force something that feels off.
Thunder will now either trade Anthony or release him outright.
The deadline to release Melo and stretch his salary, the total of $ 27.9 million or an agreed reduction, is August 31. This could reduce the Thunder's tax bill by more than $ 100 million this season, but also potentially tax the next season. They always come out in this scenario
An exchange is possible, but Anthony should cooperate. Unloading Melo on a team with ceiling space, such as Atlanta, would likely cost the Thunder priceless badets. Another team may be willing to absorb its offer in exchange for a long-term money transfer, but OKC may not want to pollute future books any more.
The biggest question is how the Thunder will replace Anthony's production.
Ideally, Melo was supposed to be a floor spacer for Thunder. While he was at times, Anthony too often put his goods to the ice stop, going into isolation mode nearly 18.1% of the time. He scored 16.2 points per game during the season, but had a scary 47.6 goals on the field. Still, he was a luxury scorer who took some of the offending burden away from Westbrook and George.
Before Melo, this luxury scorer was the Enes Kanter center, part of the trade to get Anthony in a Thunder uniform. Now Oklahoma City could enter next season without this additional option. This is a risky proposition in a perpetually charged West conference.
OKC still has its mid-level taxpayer exception available worth $ 5.3 million. However, the list of market players that are worth this price evaporates quickly. The Thunder met Tyreke Evans' guard, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com, but failed to match a $ 12 million Pacers bid. An intriguing option, Jabari Parker of Milwaukee, is a restricted free agent, although the chances of signing an accomplished marker like him with the exception of intermediate level are slim.
Exploiting this exception would come with extra taxes that the Thunder are online to register. At present, the Thunder are in a tax bracket that would cost them $ 5.75 for every $ 1 of salary. Depending on how this Anthony situation is resolved, OKC should end up in a much smaller slice. Yet he could be faced with the possibility of adding $ 3.50 or $ 4.25 for each additional dollar of salary.
On the other hand, there are ways to fix it. The Thunder played at an average pace of the league last season and could look to lose the offensive now. The ball should stay less without Anthony, but asking Westbrook to release control of the offensive in favor of more flow is an annual event.
Without Carmelo Anthony, Paul George could get more chances to score Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press
There will be more opportunities to put the ball in George's hands. Grant made significant progress in the season and signed a new deal with the Thunder for $ 27 million over three years.
Terrance Ferguson enters his second year with the opportunity to sprout. He earned Donovan's confidence throughout the season and dropped 44.4% of his three-point attempts after the All-Star break. Alex Abrines was involved in Donovan's rotation and came out largely because of his defensive inefficiency, but he remains another option to get more appearance.
Veteran Patrick Patterson could also have more impact next season. He started last season due to a knee injury and averaged 15.5 minutes per game. Once a key feature on the Raptors bench, Patterson's season ended with him playing just one minute of play in Game 6 against the Jazz. If he is healthy, he can help spread the ground and keep his defenses honest.
The only rookie of a player who was not in the team last year, Nerlens Noel Center, has more points of questioning than The Riddler. Its impact is anticipated more on the defensive end and within three feet of the basket
A group of young, untrained players and / or fellows will be asked to fill in the gap on the field . But the most important gap was between production and Melo's salary – and the huge cost of maintaining it. The Thunder has long been willing to pay a big tax bill, but they think they can improve while reducing their payroll.
Signatures reported via Free agency tracker from NBA.com. Statistics via NBA.com unless otherwise noted.
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