Nets hope to also land Andre Miller in ‘Melo deal
The New Jersey Nets are hoping to sell Carmelo Anthony on their future by also acquiring point guard Andre Miller, one of his former teammates.
The Nets have continued talks with the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets about the possibility of adding Miller in a multiteam trade that would land them Anthony, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Anthony and Miller were teammates in Denver from 2003-06 and played well together. While reuniting with Miller would be attractive to Anthony, sources continue to insist the Nets would likely need to acquire an additional quality player for Anthony to seriously consider committing to a contract extension with the franchise.
The Nuggets would likely acquire forwards Derrick Favors and Troy Murphy and two first-round picks from the Nets in potential deal. Under one scenario, New Jersey would send point guard Devin Harris to the Blazers. The roadblock is that the Nuggets also covet the Blazers’ Nicolas Batum, and Portland officials have shown no interest in trading their versatile young forward. Other players and draft picks could also be involved.
“There are some other scenarios, but [Nets general manager] Billy King is really pushing for this,” one NBA executive said. “He is trying to figure out what Denver wants.”
King is still a big fan of Miller, who played for him in Philadelphia.
Denver is attracted to dealing with New Jersey in large part because the Nets have five first-round picks over the next two years.
The Nets discussed a possible deal for Miller during the preseason, but nothing materialized. The Charlotte Bobcats also have had recent conversations with the Blazers about Miller, but the talks haven’t progressed.
Anthony has refused to sign a three-year, $64 million deal with the Nuggets and previously hoped he would be traded to either the New York Knicks or Chicago Bulls. If Anthony is moved, don’t expect the Nuggets to be in a rush to trade guard Chauncey Billups, a league source said. Denver could exercise Billups’ $3.7 million contract buyout prior to June 23 and sign him to a longer-term deal at a much smaller salary than the $13.1 million he is making this season.
NBA - Yahoo! Sports