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Carmelo Anthony Gets One Last Parting Gift From the Hawks

All Melo got from the Hawks was $25 million and this shirt. 

Dan Gartland

Carmelo Anthony Gets One Last Parting Gift From the Hawks
Carmelo Anthony Gets One Last Parting Gift From the Hawks /

The Hawks are giving Carmelo Anthony something to remember his Atlanta tenure by. 

The Thunder dumped Melo’s salary on the Hawks earlier this summer, though the Hawks had no intention of hanging onto him. He negotiated a buyout, accepting a payment of $25.5 million ($2.4 million less than his full salary) so that he could sign a veteran’s minimum deal (worth $2.4 million) with a contender. He’s expected to make things official with the Rockets in the coming days. 

All told, Melo only spent five days as a member of the Hawks, but he’ll always have something to remember that week. 

Will Carmelo and the Rockets Prove to Be a Doomed Marriage?

LeBron took to Twitter to (jokingly) congratulate Melo on a "helleva run in the A."

An underratedly interesting part of this is how the Hawks decided to give Melo his old No. 15, which he wore in Denver. That number was retired in New York and then taken by Kyle Singler in Oklahoma City. Clint Capela wears No. 15 for the Rockets, so Melo will likely be wearing No. 7 again when he signs with Houston. 

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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