Carmelo Anthony will finally secure his escape from the Houston Rockets on Tuesday when the Rockets complete a trade that sends the former All-Star to the Chicago Bulls, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The Bulls have no intention of playing Anthony but could elect to keep him until the Feb. 7 trade deadline and use him in another potential deal, according to the person, who was not authorized to discuss the trade publicly. The trade with Chicago, which is also expected to include some minor draft compensation, could not be executed Monday because the league office was closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But the Rockets, as first reported by ESPN, offered an undisclosed amount of cash to convince the Bulls to take on the remainder of Anthony’s $2.4 million salary for this season, which will result in a luxury-tax savings of $2.6 million for Houston. Anthony, 34, has been in search of a new team since Nov. 11, when The New York Times first reported that the former Knick’s time with the Rockets was coming to an end after just 10 games together.

Source: New York Times January 21, 2019 23:47 UTC