With a meeting with Carmelo Anthony scheduled for today, the Rockets have gone into high gear to convince him that Houston is the place for him. Clyde Drexler, Dwight Howard, James Harden, and others are on hand, and they have put signs up all throughout the arena featuring Anthony in a Rockets jersey.
This, from our Twitter feed:
Check out this Melo poster outside of the Toyota Center. This one is actually real! pic.twitter.com/RdCvLATYiT
— The Dream Shake (@DreamShakeSBN) July 2, 2014
This is very reminiscent of the Rockets pursuit of Dwight Howard, where the team went all out publicly and privately to get Howard to sign on the dotted line, but this time the Rockets aren't the front runners. They're trying to convince him that Houston is the place for him, when some have suggested his heart is in Chicago.
On an unrelated note, the Rockets aren't even trying to hide the fact that Jeremy Lin is as good as gone if they can sign Anthony. They put Anthony in his #7 jersey, the number taken up by Lin last season. It is a pretty simple reality that if the Rockets can sign Anthony they have to trade Lin, but such a public admission of this is unusual. Let's hope that Lin isn't offended if the team strikes out.