Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson said on Thursday that Carmelo Anthony should bolt out of New York Knicks, and sign with the Houston Rockets this summer.

In an interview with SiriusXM NBA radio, Robertson said that Anthony has always been criticized either for shooting too much or not shooting enough, and he believes that the same trend will continue if he stays with the Knicks.

"No matter what he does in New York they're going to criticize him, the people are going to criticize him, because you got guys on [the Knicks] that cannot play. You got guys that are hurt all the time," Robertson said via ESPN.

Anthony has been saying publicly that money won't be a factor when he makes his decision in the offseason, insisting that winning a title is his main goal.

And to have a better chance of finally winning his first NBA championship, Robertson said that the All-Star forward should sign with the Houston Rockets to form a new big three with Dwight Howard and James Harden.

"If he goes to Houston, they're gonna win everything," Robertson said. "You look at LeBron [James], LeBron's got a great game and the kid down at Oklahoma, [Kevin] Durant's got a great game -- they can't out-shoot Carmelo. I've seen him in a lot of basketball games over the years and I'm telling you right now the kid, he just can get that shot away. Now he's gotten smarter, he's going to the basket a lot."

Anthony said that staying with the Knicks is still his top priority, but he pointed out that he could also sign elsewhere if new team president Phil Jackson will not give him an assurance that the Knicks will quickly become a contender.

In a recent interview, Jackson reiterated that he is committed to turning the Knicks into a title contender, but he also said that Anthony should make a sacrifice by accepting less money this summer.

"The way things have been structured now financially for teams is that it's really hard to have one or two top stars or max players, and to put together a team with enough talent, you've got to have people making sacrifices financially," Jackson said. "So we hope that Carmelo is true to his word and we understand what it's going to take, and we will present that to him at that time."

Related