D’Antoni on Carmelo Anthony: ‘It Wasn’t Fair to Him’

Rockets move on from Melo.

This is Allen Iverson all over again.

What the Rockets asked Carmelo Anthony to do “wasn’t fair to him as a Hall of Fame player,” says head coach Mike D’Antoni.

D’Antoni says it was better for both sides to cut ties instead of asking the 34-year-old 10-time NBA All-Star to accept an even more reduced role.

Carmelo Anthony is done in Houston. The Rockets say they are “parting ways” with the 10-time All-Star. @kristieAP https://t.co/8lc4X27lEx pic.twitter.com/liJc4E2mV4



— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) Whatnot is Giving Away $25,000 Worth of Sneaker Heat for Their Thanksgiving Giveback

I mean he wasn’t really paying that badly in his 10 games in Houston, after signing a one-year, $2.4 million deal in the offseason.

Per the AP:

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey released a statement Thursday saying the team is “parting ways” with Anthony and “working toward a resolution.”



Morey attached that: “Carmelo had a tremendous approach during his time with the Rockets and accepted every role head coach Mike D’Antoni gave him. The fit we envisioned when Carmelo chose to sign with the Rockets has not materialized, therefore we thought it was best to move on as any other outcome would have been unfair to him.”



Houston thought he could be the piece it needed to finally get past Golden State and win its first championship since back-to-back titles in 1994-95. Instead the Rockets limped out to a 6-7 start and the emergence of undrafted rookie Gary Clark made it appear that Anthony would have to take a reduced role.



“We just had to see how things worked out,” D’Antoni said. “And the way we play probably wasn’t conducive to his game and he was trying to make the necessary sacrifices and it wasn’t fair to him as a Hall of Fame player to play in a way that wasn’t good for him, wasn’t good for us. It just wasn’t a fit.”

I guess all is fair in Love and Basketball — except this. We’re just hoping Melo finds a good fit. Perhaps back in New York — or even Denver.