Carmelo Anthony favoring leaving Knicks for Bulls or Rockets

The Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls have emerged as the favorites to land Carmelo Anthony, with the Knicks star is leaning towards leaving New York, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Houston and Chicago have each reportedly started figuring out how best to fit Anthony on the roster should the seven-time All-Star decline his $23.3 million player option in New York for the 2014-15 season.

New Knicks president Phil Jackson has been urging Anthony to accept his player option and delay free agency for another year, but it’s going to be a hard sell. Anthony recently turned 30 years old. This is likely his last chance to both cash in on another long-term contract, and give himself the best chance to win while he’s still in his athletic prime.

Would Anthony really leave New York? Are Chicago and Houston the best fits for his game? Let’s break down this rumor.

Houston GM Daryl Morey is always up to something. The Rockets decided to make Chandler Parsons a restricted free agent this summer in part to open up roster flexibility. Houston has over $62 million committed in salary next season, but could open up space by dealing Jeremy Lin and/or Omer Asik. Lin and Asik both count for just over $8 million against the salary cap but will be paid over $15 million by whichever team employs them next season. Each is entering the last season of a three-year contract signed in 2012.

Anthony would give Houston another shooter to space the floor around Dwight Howard. The Rockets finished fourth in the NBA in offensive rating this season, and the potential acquisition of the NBA’s second leading scorer would give them an incredible amount of firepower. There would be concerns on the other side of the ball, though. Anthony and current Rockets star James Harden are considered below average defenders. Houston ranked No. 25 in the league in defensive efficiency this last season.

In Chicago, Anthony would be a huge boost for one of the league’s worst offenses. The Bulls were No. 28 in offensive efficiency in the NBA last year, and have to be concerned about Derrick Rose shouldering too big of a burden as he comes back from his second straight season-ending knee surgery.

Anthony makes a ton of sense for a Bulls team that scored only 69 points in its final playoff loss to the Washington Wizards. The question for Chicago is whether Anthony would cost the team power forward Taj Gibson. The Bulls would likely to try engage the Knicks in sign-and-trade discussions before shedding Gibson’s salary in an attempt to sign Anthony in free agency with cap space.

Houston makes sense for Anthony because it could be one star away from seriously competing for an NBA title. Chicago makes sense because its offense was hopeless at times last season. As for Anthony’s decision to leave the Knicks, it seems like a no-brainer if he wants to compete deep into the playoffs anytime in the next few years.

The Bulls have a long history of being connected to star free agents, and they rarely get the job done. If the Bulls were to acquire a player of Anthony’s caliber, it would essentially be reversing course on the last 15 years of the franchise’s history.

Houston might be a star away from true contention, but is Anthony the right star? Adding Anthony is not the way to fix one of the worst defenses in the NBA. Morey is consistently aggressive in these situations, but he should also be smart enough to know the team would have to upgrade its perimeter defense significantly to win a championship even if they had Anthony.

Where’s there’s smoke, there’s typically fire. There’s been a lot of talk about Anthony wanting to win now after a disastrous last season for the Knicks. The Bulls and Rockets are logical destinations, but a player of Anthony’s caliber will always draw more than two suitors. If Anthony does leave New York, Houston and Chicago are bound to be in the mix.