Rockets News: Owner Says He Had No Part In Booting Out Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony remains in waiting regarding where to play next in the NBA. His last piece of action was with the Houston Rockets, a stint that did not last very long. Team owner Tilman Fertita claimed that he was a little surprised over the front office letting the 35-year-old go. However, he believes that the move was for the good of the franchise even if he thought highly of the ten-time All-Star.

Speaking to SNY, Tillman said he never got the chance to meet Anthony up and close. All he heard was how the third overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft acted in gentleman fashion and that Melo would be playing whatever part on the team that coaches wanted him to do.

"Basketball ops decided to make a decision and, you know, it kinda surprised me too, as a fan of the Houston Rockets. But I know what I know and I know what I don’t know. And if my basketball ops thought that we should move on, then I sure wasn’t going to tell them not to, even though I thought that Melo’s one the greatest players to ever play the game,” said the Rockets owner.

As of this writing, Anthony has yet to hook up with an NBA team. Fertita believes that Melo remains one of the top 150 players in the league and that the 2013 NBA scoring champion is likely to be picked up soon. However, there are certain things in play such as his age and style of play.

Anthony's knack of having the basketball most of the time in his hands has become a point of debate on where the All-Star forward would best fit. But as mentioned in a previous post, any team who could express interest in him will have to define his role. Anthony previously said he was willing to take on any role for any team. However, this depends on a team's needs.

"It’s all about if he will accept a role. (He can be an) off the bench scorer and locker room positive influence. He could make $5-7 million,” said an unnamed NBA executive from the Eastern Conference.