The Carmelo Anthony era is coming to an end in Oklahoma City. The Thunder are exploring options to either trade or release the 10-time All-Star in order to shave more than $100 million from the club’s bloated salary cap and luxury tax, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
A trade or release via the league’s stretch provision would end Anthony’s Oklahoma tenure at just a single season. The Thunder made a big splash by shipping Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second-round pick to the Knicks to acquire the gifted scorer last September. While the team hoped he, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George would be a potent enough trio to lead the team back to NBA title contention, the three ball-dominant players struggled to find a comfortable stasis between them.
The result was, statistically, the worst season of Anthony’s NBA life. He posted career lows in field goal percentage (40.4%) and points per game (16.2) as Oklahoma City only improved its record by a single game in 2017-18. Much like the year before, the Thunder were ousted in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
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