Rockets Confirm Carmelo Anthony Signing, D'Antoni Has No Problems With Forward

The Houston Rockets have officially confirmed the signing of Carmelo Anthony on a one-year $2.4 million deal Monday. The franchise’s general manager Daryl Morey announced the signing via his official Twitter account along with a video showcasing the veteran forward’s top 10 plays.

Anthony’s move to the Rockets will make them his fourth NBA team in just over a year after he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks by Oklahoma City Thunder last month before he was released by the former. He joined Thunder last summer after spending seven years with the New York Knicks.

The former Knicks forward is said to have traveled to Houston on Monday to complete his physical and sign the deal with his new franchise. According to ESPN, Anthony also received the remaining $25.4 million of his original 2018-19 season salary from the Hawks, which included his $2.4 million contract buyout.

Anthony is coming into the new season after averaging a career low 16.2 points in 78 games last season with the Thunder. He will join 2017-18 season MVP James Harden and star point guard Chris Paul in the Rockets.

The forward is expected to play a role for the Rockets from the bench, and was welcomed by his new teammates after his signing was made official on Monday: “Welcome my brother,” Paul wrote on his official Twitter account.

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who had a fall out with Anthony six years ago during their time together with the Knicks, believes it is a different situation this time around and is certain he will have no problems coaching the forward this time around.

D’Antoni believes the current team at his disposal in Houston has the possibility to win a championship together. He believes Anthony is a “better fit” at the Rockets than he was with the Knicks and they have a good chance to go one step better and make the NBA Finals this time around.

"In New York, when [the Knicks] gave away half the team [to the Nuggets in the 2011 trade for Anthony] and everybody expected us to win a championship, it really wasn't realistic," D'Antoni told USA Today Sports on Monday just before Anthony’s signing was confirmed. "It put a lot of pressure on everybody, and it kind of burst the pipes.”

"I think this is totally different. We've got a team that is a whole bunch of veterans that really, we've got one thing in mind, and that's to win a championship, and we have the possibility.

"We never had a blow-up before, so it's not he wanted to play a certain way and I kind of wanted to coach another way," the Rockets coach said. "Back then [in New York], there wasn't even analytics. I was going by my gut, and he was going by [his] gut, and it's just, you know -- styles clash.”

"And I think now, things have changed and everybody is playing the same way. I think it's a lot better fit and I think we have a really good chance to be really good,” D’Antoni added.

Anthony is a 10-time All-Star and has won three Olympic gold medals with the USA basketball team and is their all-time leading scorer and rebounder.