Can you ever remember this long of a period of trade speculation about a player during the regular season as what’s currently going on with Carmelo Anthony?
A few years ago, it looked like Kobe Bryant was on the verge of being dealt to the Clippers, Bulls, and whoever else, but that was during the summer, and even then I don’t remember this much focus being placed on a potential trade for one of the league’s superstars.
Last night, I was watching SportsCenter to bask in my Chicago Bears punching their tickets to the NFC title game. The first 40 minutes of the show was, of course, devoted to the NFL because ESPN crushes some NFL year round. The next story: “Latest Carmelo Speculation”.
We had a near Clippers-Lakers brawl yesterday, as well as two top ten college basketball upsets and a 20 point North Carolina defeat, but the next biggest story of the day in the eyes of the all knowing ESPN execs was Carmelo.
And it’s been that way for at least two weeks now.
Everybody knows Carmelo is going somewhere, simply because he has to. Denver is not going to be able to hold onto him beyond this year and when you lose the cornerstone of your franchise, you can’t afford to do what Cleveland did and get basically no other assets in exchange.
While Carmelo will leave Denver in a slightly better way than LeBron James left the Cavaliers because the Nuggets know it’s coming, the divorce between the two is far from ideal. Denver absolutely has to deal Carmelo before the trade deadline and they are basically in a holding pattern until they do, because much of their roster will turn over when the deal goes down.
Carmelo has made it clear that New York is his preferred destination. When he is dealt, he wants to get a big $$$ three year extension signed (before the CBA expires and the salary structure in the league is potentially seismically altered), but it looks like he will only sign said deal with the Knicks. The only way that changes is if somebody like the Nets can convince him otherwise in a sit-down like the one that may happen this week with the New Jersey Nets.
As trade partners go, Nets are absolutely ideal for the Nuggets. They have draft picks, valuable young pieces, and are highly motivated to get a deal done. However, the Nets are a less than ideal spot for ‘Melo. Even with veterans like Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton coming with him, NJ doesn’t figure to contend with the likes of Boston and Miami in the short run. New Jersey wants Carmelo, but they don’t want him if he won’t agree to an extension.
As I mentioned before, the Knicks are the ideal landing spot for ‘Melo. He gets to play on the big stage of Madison Square Garden with Amar’e Stoudemire, who would be the best big man Carmelo has ever played with. However, the Knicks just don’t have the kind of trade pieces that the Nets have. Any deal that the Nuggets make with NY will be worse than one they get from NJ.
So, where does that leave us? Essentially, either Carmelo or the Nuggets are going to have to yield in this game of chicken. Will the Nuggets cave and send him to the Knicks or will Carmelo cave and agree to an extension with a team like the Nets?
There is a third option though. Teams like Houston, Dallas, and maybe even the Clippers (among others) could potentially contend this year with Carmelo on board, meaning they would be willing to make a deal without getting an extension signed. All those teams have better trade pieces than the Knicks and may be willing to gamble on getting ‘Melo for the rest of the year without any guarantee of him returning.
As a basketball fan, I think this may be the ideal option. The Nuggets get assets in return that will allow them to become competitive again soon, ‘Melo plays on a good team, and then we get the drama of “where will ‘Melo sign?” whenever a new CBA is signed.
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