A source told ESPN that terms of the buyout call for the 34-year-old Anthony to receive the US$27.9 million (RM113.4 million) due to him under the terms of his contract, then rebate US$2.4 million (RM9.8 million) to the Hawks. Once he clears waivers, he is expected to join the Houston Rockets for the veteran minimum contract of US$2.4 million (RM9.8 million). He already has been working out with Houston stars James Harden and Chris Paul.

Anthony, who is entering his 16th NBA season, has a career scoring average of 24.1 points per game with Denver, New York, and Oklahoma City. In 2017-18, in his only season with the Thunder, he averaged 16.2 points per game in 32.1 minutes.

The Hawks acquired Anthony on July 25 as part of a three-team transaction, with Atlanta also receiving a protected 2022 first-round draft pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Justin Anderson from the Philadelphia 76ers. To complete the trade, the Hawks traded Mike Muscala to Philadelphia and Dennis Schröder to Oklahoma City, while Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot moved from Philadelphia to Oklahoma City.