Carmelo Anthony Gives His Thoughts On Coming Off The Bench For Rockets

TheSportster

By Lou Flavius

Published Aug 15, 2018

Carmelo Anthony wasn't ready to function as a sixth man a few months ago, but things have since changed.

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 10: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on during the game against the Denver Nuggets on October 10, 2017 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

New Houston Rockets star Carmelo Anthony is no longer averse to coming off the bench.

The former Oklahoma City Thunder forward penned a one-year deal with the NBA's Western Conference finalists this Monday. And, given what he's told TMZ Sports, he might not reject a bench role for his new team and is simply waiting to see how things go.

"Let's just let it play out, though," the 10-time All-Star told the above-mentioned source. "I don't even know what's going on. I just signed—let it start first."

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Anthony played a total of 78 games for the Thunder last season and started all of them. He made little secret of his desire to keep playing as a starter towards the end of the season, claiming that coming off the bench was simply not an option.

"I'm not sacrificing no bench role," he said back in April, in quotes cited by MassLive.com's Fred Katz. "That's out the question."

With things having changed this summer, though, the player is now seemingly open to starting on the bench as he looks ahead to a fresh start under Mike D'Antoni.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Melo will be afforded every opportunity to prove his worth as a starter, but D'Antoni could look to field him in a bench role.

"Anthony will have a chance to compete for a starting spot in training camp, but could ultimately come off the bench based on what Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni decides is best for the team," Wojnarowski claimed.

D'Antoni, meanwhile, has revealed that he the team will be experimenting with different combinations during pre-season, and early in the upcoming campaign, as they look to find the best formula.

"All I know is that we’ll try different combos—preseason, early season, and the good thing is that with analytics and with gut feelings and coaches and players, we’ll figure out what is the best way to play," the Rockets head coach explained.

"And again, if everybody is on board, then it'll be, 'Hey, this is where we're the best. This is how we can win the championship.' I don’t know yet, but we’ll make sure we get it right as good as we can."

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