NBA Rumors: Kings Could Absorb Ryan Anderson’s Contract To Help Rockets Sign Carmelo Anthony, Per ‘HoopsHype’
Since the 2018 NBA offseason started, the Houston Rockets are finding an NBA team willing to take Ryan Anderson and the remaining two years and $41.6 million left on his contract. Unfortunately, most NBA teams don’t have enough salary cap space to absorb Anderson’s lucrative deal. However, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype, there is one team that could help the Rockets with their current financial situation – the Sacramento Kings.
The Kings recently traded Garrett Temple to the Memphis Grizzlies for Ben McLemore, Deyonta Davis, and cash consideration. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer revealed that the deal gave the Kings $20.5 million in salary cap space which makes them an ideal trade partner for the Rockets.
“It opens up cap space for the Kings where now they have $20.5 million in cap space and that’s notable. Because I’ve recently heard … Houston would be looking for a team to dump Ryan Anderson on that could ease the path to sign Carmelo Anthony.”
To convince the Kings to absorb Ryan Anderson’s contract, Kalbrosky suggested that the Rockets will be needing to attach a future draft pick in the process. Giving up a draft pick is definitely worth it for the Rockets since it will give them a higher chance of bringing Carmelo Anthony to Houston. After losing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in the free agency market, the Rockets should be more aggressive in pursuing Anthony to fill their spot in the wing.
The Thunder and Hawks are discussing a trade centered around Carmelo Anthony and Dennis Schroder, reports @Mitch_Lawrence https://t.co/clKyDFHzz4 pic.twitter.com/q0WCqHD9gd
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) July 18, 2018
As of now, Carmelo Anthony and the Oklahoma City Thunder are working together to speed up their separation process. A previous Inquisitr article revealed that the Thunder are having a trade negotiation with the Atlanta Hawks involving Anthony, Dennis Schroder, and Mike Muscala. If the trade proceeds, the Hawks will immediately buyout Anthony’s contract to enable him to become an unrestricted free agent and join a title contender like the Rockets.
Aside from the potential acquisition of Anthony, successfully trading Ryan Anderson to the Kings will enable the Rockets to give restricted free agent Clint Capela a better deal. Bringing back Capela should be the Rockets’ top priority, especially if they want to dethrone the Golden State Warriors next season.
Meanwhile, for the Kings, acquiring a future draft pick in the deal will give them another young and promising talent that could help them speed up the rebuilding process. The Kings aren’t expected to contend for the title anytime soon, giving them no problem to wait for Anderson’s contract to be cleared off the book.
