New York Knicks: One year later, what’s next for Carmelo Anthony?

Long-time star of the New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, will be waived by the Houston Rockets. Is this the end of the line?

Carmelo Anthony’s tenure with the New York Knicks ended on a sour note, after an extensive public battle with the former president of basketball operations, Phil Jackson. The next regime, led by Steve Mills and Scott Perry, traded the franchise icon to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.

Lasting one year in Oklahoma City, Anthony was traded to the Atlanta Hawks and bought out in the 2018 offseason. He signed a minimum-salary contract with the Houston Rockets afterward.

However, after just 10 games, the Rockets will part ways with Anthony, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

After back-to-back unsuccessful stints with Western Conference teams, Anthony will hit waivers, and potentially free agency, at age 34.

Of course, Anthony is over one year passed his time with the Knicks, but given his presence with the organization from 2011-17 and as the former franchise icon, it’s worth noting because this could be the end of the line.

There’s no indication Anthony will retire, but also no rumor, as of this writing, of an interested party. That may happen once he officially hits waivers.

Anthony joined the Knicks via trade in 2011, when a package of Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov and draft picks were sent to the Denver Nuggets.

This deal, to add a superstar to Amar’e Stoudemire, pushed New York towards three consecutive playoff appearances. It also gave them a player to work around and find excitement for, rather than the patient rebuilding process of 2018-19.

Though, the aforementioned spat with Jackson, coupled with the new management, contributed to the September 2017 transaction.

As well as the decision to keep their team Kristaps Porzingis-centric, the Knicks sent Anthony to the Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick that became Mitchell Robinson.

Anthony’s time in OKC never worked out. He started each game in 2017-18, but role complaints led to the team parting ways, per ESPN, and the subsequent trade and buyout over the summer.

In 412 games, Anthony averaged 24.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Knicks on 44.3 percent shooting and 36.9 percent from three-point range.

These numbers fall similar to Anthony’s career stats. With his future in doubt, will he be able to build on them? Once his $2.4 million hits the open market, it should become a topic of conversation.