NBA TRADE RUMORS / expiring contract 2011

[jameskobe234]

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Anthony surging even as future remains uncertain

Feb 12, 8:26 pm EST


DENVER (AP)—Despite constant trade rumors, Carmelo Anthony(notes) is in the midst of an extraordinary scoring spree.
And the Denver Nuggets All-Star forward attributes a lot of it to a 21-day meatless fast last month.
“It was mental. It was spiritual. It was emotional,” Anthony said following a two-hour practice Saturday before the Nuggets headed out for a three-game road trip starting Sunday at Memphis.
From Jan. 9-30, Anthony followed what’s known as the “Daniel fast,” abstaining from all meats, fish, breads, sweets and soda. His diet was limited to protein shakes, raw juices, fruits and vegetables. He said he still abstains from soda and most meats.

“During that whole time, it was a lot of prayer, just taking some time out for myself and getting some clarity on things with myself, with my career, with my life, and it really helped me,” Anthony said. “I started seeing things a lot more clearly from every aspect of my life.”
Even as rumors swirl around Anthony leading up the Feb. 24 trade deadline, the Nuggets star has gained traction with his game. In five games since Feb. 4, Anthony has averaged 35.4 points. His performances in that span included tying a career high with a 50-point effort against Houston on Feb. 7 and a 42-point outburst Thursday night against Dallas.
He’s converting shots at a 57 percent clip in that span and has been even better from beyond the arc, making 61 percent of those shots.
Anthony said he’s never been in a groove like this.
“I just feel healthy,” he said. “I think that’s the No. 1 thing. My legs feel good. My body feels good and I’m starting to make shots. I’ve always taken the same shots. Some nights I miss ‘em and sometimes I make ‘em. Right now, they’re going in.”
Anthony’s sensational run hasn’t deflated the so-called “Melodrama” that has gone on virtually nonstop since he passed on the chance before the season to sign a three-year, $65 million extension from the Nuggets that remains on the table.
Wary of losing him to free agency after this season without any compensation, the Nuggets brass has entertained trade offers from around the league for the last several months. The latest rumor last week had the Nuggets discussing a possible deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Anthony has also been linked to deals involving the New Jersey Nets, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks.
A number of his Nuggets’ teammates, including hometown star Chauncey Billups(notes), also have heard their names tossed in the potential dealmaking mix.
For the most part, Anthony has tried to stay above the fray by rigorously avoiding reading news reports discussing potential trade scenarios. But, he caused a stir last week when he said publicly for the first time he would consider signing the extension with the Nuggets if the trade deadline came and went and he was still in Denver.
Some speculated that was Anthony’s way of putting pressure on the Knicks to sweeten the pot and not wait to sign him as a free agent. Any new collective bargaining agreement will have cost constraints that could cost Anthony millions of dollars if he refused to sign the $65 million extension.
On Saturday, he said his remark was consistent with what he has said all season—that he just wants to keep all of his options open. When asked in a follow-up what was the most ridiculous rumor he had heard throughout this drawn-out process, he smiled: “That I hate Denver. I laughed at that one.”
While conceding there have been difficult moments amid all the trade talk, Anthony said he has maintained his focus on what he can do for the Nuggets on the court, a resolve he said was strengthened by the philosophical outlook he gained through his fast.
“I think it takes a strong-willed person, a strong-minded person to deal with the stuff that I deal with and still go out there and go to work every day and perform,” Anthony said. “I take my hat off to myself for dealing with all this stuff that’s going on out there, and still be able to go out there and play at the highest level.
“I don’t really think the average person can walk in my shoes.”

[jameskobe234]

Bynum for Melo? How about Gasol Instead?

by ActuarialSound on Feb 9, 2011 2:19 PM PST

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Unless you have been hiding under a rock the last two days, you are probably aware of the rumors that are circulating about the Lakers and Nuggets having trade discussions centering around an Andrew Bynum for Carmelo Anthony trade. There have been numerous opinions from analysts, blogs, as well as forums discussing the pro's and con's of such a move. While all of those focused Bynum, I am instead proposing a different Laker be traded for Carmelo Anthony... Pau Gasol. Now before you proceed down to the comment section to blast this idea, I ask that you read the entire post and keep your mind open for what would truly best improve the Lakers. You can however skip down to the bottom to see my trade proposal if you would like.

Why not an Andrew Bynum for Carmelo Anthony trade?
The biggest reason that I can think of is that such a trade would not necessarily improve the Lakers in the areas they need improvement.
When building an NBA team I think the goal is very simple, to be the best on offense and defense in the league. Obviously this is very difficult to do (only 72 win Bulls have met that standard in the modern era) but it should still be a goal none-the-less. If a team is the best on both ends then barring any bad luck they should win the title. It is as simple as that. So how do the Lakers compare with these goals?
Offensively the Lakers are currently tied with Denver as the most efficient offense in the league (according to www.basketball-reference.com). When it comes to this end of the floor the Lakers are already "championship caliber". Defensively however the Lakers rank only 11th. Meanwhile, the true contenders for this year's title all rank ahead of them: Chicago (1), Boston (2), Miami (3), Orlando (4), San Antonio (7), and Dallas (10). It is the defense of the Lakers that really needs to be the focus.
In order to address the defensive issues, one must first examine the various components of the defense to see where it is the Lakers struggle. Below is a table showing a couple of defensive statistics for the Lakers relative to the league average and where they rank in the league
League StatisticAverageLakersRankEffective FG%0.4970.4837thFT/FGA0.2320.1791stDef Reb %0.7370.72521st
It is quite evident that the Lakers are good at not allowing the opposition to shoot efficiently or get to the line often. The only thing keeping the Lakers from being a top team defensively is their inability to grab defensive rebounds. The recent game against the Spurs was a prime example. The game winning tip by Antonio McDyess was the 4th shot attempt of the possession and had the Lakers grabbed a rebound after any of the previous three attempts the Lakers would have won that game.
So why do the Lakers struggle so much on their defensive glass? I see two primary causes. 1) Not utilizing their best front-line and 2) Ron Artest
The Lakers top defensive rebounders are Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. When Gasol is on the floor with Odom or Bynum the team grabs roughly 71% of the defensive rebounds (we're talking Phoenix Suns territory). However when Odom and Bynum are in together the Lakers grab a remarkable 81% of the defensive rebounds. That figure of 81% would lead the league in that category by a significant margin. Teams just don't get second chances when Bynum and Odom are on the floor. Ironically, it was Gasol and Odom on the floor that final possession against the Spurs.
As for Ron Artest, he just can't jump. The guy can't elevate anymore to grab rebounds. In fact, Ron Artests current defensive rebound rate of 7.2% puts him behind Derek Fisher (7.3%) and Steve Blake (10.5%). He is a huge reason for the Lakers struggles on the glass.
That is one reason that the acquisition of Carmelo would make sense. Carmelo Anthony is one of the best (of not the best) rebounding small forwards in the league. His defensive rebound rate of 19.5% is not much lower than Pau Gasol's 20.2%. So while Ron Artest is a better on-ball defender, Carmelo's superior rebouding and offensive skills would significantly improve the Lakers.
The problem is that whatever gains the Lakers make with the upgrade at the SF position they most certainly will be hurt on the front line. They will lose their best rebounder and defensive player in Bynum. It is for this reason that I suggest that Gasol be traded rather than Bynum.
So why Gasol instead?
Here are the Lakers offensive and defensive efficiency stats by two-man combination of Bynum, Gasol, and Odom with the other three starters (Fisher, Bryant, and Artest):
CombinationPossessionsOff. Eff.Def. Eff.Net. EffOdom-Gasol1,378115.8103.512.3Gasol-Bynum603115.4103.611.8Odom-Bynum161116.891.825.0
When holding the other three players fixed, the combination of Odom and Bynum is significantly better than either combination with Gasol. Interestingly, the difference is solely attributable to the defensive end where the 91.8 rating would be the best in the league. However, with Gasol on the floor the Lakers defense is good but not great.
Offensively there appears to be no loss in efficiency either. When Gasol is focused and aggressive he brings a new dimension to the team and the Lakers become nearly unguardable. But when he is not aggressive the offense really struggles. If Bynum were to be traded then Gasol would be the center full-time and he hasn't shown a desire to do the heavy banging that position would require in the playoffs (against Howard or Perkins for example).
If the Lakers do play just as well, if not better, with an Odom-Bynum combination as they do with Gasol, then why not trade him? The biggest difference between including Gasol in a trade over Bynum is actually the additional pieces that can be had with such a trade. I would not suggest a Gasol for Carmelo deal straight up.
Additional Pieces -
Bynum currently makes less money ($13.8 Million) than Carmelo does ($17.1 Million) and given that the Lakers do not have many other tradeable assets it would be very difficult for the Lakers acquire any other player who can contribute, especially a PG or another center to replace Bynum. Pau Gasol, on the other hand, makes $17.8 Million meaning the Lakers could take back additional salary and possibly work another impact player into the deal.
More incentive for Denver -
While Bynum is certainly a player that many orginizations want, Denver already has a very solid center in Nene and neither Nene or Bynum could slide over to the PF spot meaning that Nene would probably have to be traded (or Bynum again for a different player). However if Gasol were on the table the Nuggets could be enticed by idea of a frontline combination of Gasol and Nene and the mismatches it would create. If that option were on the table the Nuggets may be inclined to sweeten the pot a little for the other parties involved in the trade.

So without further ado...
The trade proposal- http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=4aqeyqn
Gasol, Walton, and Artest to the Nuggets
Anthony, Billups, Harrington, and Brad Miller to the Lakers
Ebanks, Brown, and Caracter to Houston plus a couple of draft picks.

What does it mean for Houston?
The Rockets are essentially trading Brad Miller, their back-up center with 3 years left on his contract, for two very inexpensive prospects (Ebanks and Caracter), a very solid back-up shooting guard (Shannon Brown) with a favorable contract, 1 year at only $2.1 Million, and some draft picks (probably one from Denver and one from LA). This would position the Rockets better as they would have more cap flexibility and future picks to use as they build the team around a new core of Scola and Martin. Brad Miller is not in their long term plans.
What does is mean for Denver?
Denver would have a very impressive core to build around. Their frontline would instantly be one of the best in the league with a Nene and Gasol combination. They would have Lawson and Afflalo in the back court and another wing to be named later. They would have moved the bad Harrington contract (5 years @ 5.7M) for the shorter term deals of Walton (3 years) and Artest (4 years). This additional flexibility and the inclusion of the much more desireable Gasol would cost them Billups and a draft pick (or two).
They would be in a great position to rebuild on the fly as they would have 4 solid starters (Nene, Gasol, Afflalo, and Lawson) and only have $53 Million of salary and possibly be under the salary cap depending on the results of the new CBA. This would be a great deal for a team trying to part ways with a star that wants to leave.
What does is mean for LA?
Obviously the Lakers are getting Carmelo, the biggest impact piece coming to the Lakers. The upgrade offensively over Artest can't be understated. All those wide open shots that Artest gets would now be Anthony's. Teams wouldn't be able to key in on Kobe late in close games the way they do now. Defensively, Anthony may actually be an improvement as the Lakers need help rebouding at the SF position and Anthony is one of the best (see above). This would be a huge upgrade at the position, both immediately and long term.
The second biggest piece of the trade is the acquisition of a bonafied quality PG in Chauncy Billups. Billups would be the ideal PG for the Lakers. Defensively he would be an improvement over Fisher and Blake and offensively he is the best shooter of the three. He also has experience in the playoffs and doesn't fold under pressure. The Lakers starting line-up would finally have no weak links. Any double team of Kobe or Carmelo would result in either a three by Billups or easy baskets at the rim by Odom or Bynum.
The third piece (and probably underrated aspect) would be the acquisition of Brad Miller. Brad Miller has long been considered one of the best passing centers in the league. His passing skills and ability to shoot from 15+ feet would make him an ideal center for the triangle offense. He would also restore the depth on the front line with Gasol no longer there. The only way to pry him from Houston is to make it worth their while and Denver may be inclined to give up draft picks in exchange for dumping Harrington.
The last piece is Harrington and undertunately he is a bad contract and an average contributor. He would see some minutes as a back-up PF and SF but most likely would simply be collecting a check (a la Luke Walton). The Lakers would agree to take him as incentive for Denver to include Billups and to trade some draft picks. The Lakers would also be moving the contracts of Walton and Artest.
Immediate Impact -
The immediate impact is that the Lakers now have a starting line-up of Billups, Bryant, Anthony, Odom, and Bynum. This line-up is actually improved over the current Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol, and Bynum combination and may be better than the line-up of the Bynum for Carmelo trade as the improvement of Billups over Fisher is larger than the downgrade of Gasol to Odom.
Offensively this Lakers team would be the best unit that we have put on the floor since the Showtime era and may even be better. The Lakers would have shooting to spread the floor, multiple guys who can not only create their own shots but also create opportunities for others off the dribble, and at least two players who demand a double team. If the Lakers are currently tied for 1st in the league in offensive efficiency then this unit would league the lead by a decent margin.
Defensively this Lakers team would be championship caliber. The Lakers two biggest weakness has been rebounding the basketball. Even with the subpar defense at the PG spot, the occassionally relaxed defense from Kobe, and regression that Ron Artest has had the Lakers are still one of the top teams in making the opposition miss and preventing them from getting to the line. Certainly bringing in Billups and Carmelo would not make the on the ball defense any worse so the Lakers exceptional performance to date in those areas should continue. However the rebounding would be by far the biggest area of improvement. The Lakers would be replacing PG level rebounding from Artest with a SF in Anthony who rebounds at almost the same rate as Gasol. Couple that with Odom, Bynum, and Kobe's above average rebounding and the Lakers would certainly fix the one area of defense that has killed them.
The Lakers would also still have quality depth with Miller, Barnes, Fisher, Blake, Harrington, Ratliff, and Smith. This proposed version of the Lakers would still have a great shot at the title.

Future Impact -
The best part of this deal may be the potential future moves in the following season. There have been rumblings out of Orlando that Dwight Howard would not be opposed to going to another team if he feels that Orlando can't win a title. The Lakers were on his short list of teams. The most obvious trade scenario would be built around Howard for Bynum with other pieces included. If the Lakers make a trade with Denver in which Bynum is traded then this scenario is off the table. However, if Gasol is sent to Denver so that the Lakers retain Bynum then he could be used later should the Magic's Superman suddenly want to switch coasts.
In fact, if that opportunity were to present itself the Lakers could be in a position next year to offer Bynum, the expiring contract of Billups, and Al Harrington to Orlando for Dwight Howard and other pieces (perhaps a 3rd team for a PG). Such a trade would set the "post Kobe" era in motion with a core of Howard, Odom, and Melo.
Obviously these are big decisions going forward for Lakers management and while Bynum's name always pops up, I thought it would be interesting to show the team may be better off by moving Gasol instead given the additions players that can be aquired a deal.

[jameskobe234]

Nets resume talks for Anthony

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 7 hours, 52 minutes ago

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Less than a month after the New Jersey Nets pulled out of trade talks, the Denver Nuggets have re-engaged the Nets in discussions on a blockbuster deal for Carmelo Anthony(notes), league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
One source described talks as “progressing” and said they have been ongoing between Denver and New Jersey officials for more than a week. While the precise package being discussed was unclear, sources said talks have centered on a scaled-down package that still includes rookie forward Derrick Favors(notes) and draft picks.
What also is unknown is whether Anthony has agreed to accept a three-year, $65 million extension with New Jersey if the Nuggets and Nets work out an agreement.
More From Adrian Wojnarowski

• Anthony distances himself from Nuggets Feb 16, 2011
• Silas to receive extension from Bobcats Feb 15, 2011

The New York Knicks have been firmly engaged in talks with Denver, but haven’t come close to an agreement on a package of players and picks for Anthony. Anthony has expressed his preference to play for New York, but also is determined to get a deal done before the Feb. 24 trade deadline to ensure the contract extension.
The Record of Hackensack (N.J.) is also reporting the resumption of talks.
The Nets had twice previously thought they were close to acquiring Anthony only to have talks stall. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov canceled a scheduled meeting with Anthony last month and declared his franchise would no longer pursue the All-Star forward. In addition to not wanting to meet the Nuggets’ ever-increasing demands – Denver had sought Favors, Devin Harris, Anthony Morrow, at least three other role players and wanted to dump as much salary as possible on New Jersey – Prokhorov said on Jan. 19 he was pulling out of negotiations because he was unsure whether Anthony wanted to sign an extension with the Nets.
Prokhorov had ordered Nets officials to not restart talks for Anthony unless the Nuggets first engaged them.
Anthony has preferred to join the Knicks, but he runs the risk of having to settle for a smaller contract under a new collective-bargaining agreement if New York can’t get a deal done with Denver.
While Knicks president Donnie Walsh has remained unwilling to gut his roster to make a trade for Anthony, the Nuggets are fighting to hold together a coaching staff and locker room that has grown increasingly disillusioned with the franchise star, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Several sources describe a locker room frustrated with Anthony chasing shots and points over winning games, a resistance to listen to coach George Karl and a distancing of himself throughout the season from the rest of the team.
For these reasons – and a fear of losing him for nothing in free agency – few are buying the bluff of the Nuggets believing they can still convince him to sign a three-year, $65 million contract extension.
“With the way he’s distanced himself from the team, the organization, they’re kidding themselves if they think he’s signing a new deal,” one league official told Yahoo! Sports. “He hasn’t checked out on the season because he never checked in.”
The Nuggets are working on a contract extension for Karl, and no one close to him believes he can muster much enthusiasm to keep coaching Anthony. Karl has played along with the company line on wanting to re-sign Anthony, but sources said he’s far more at peace with coaching a rebuilding roster than this mix of Nuggets. Karl has struggled coaching Anthony with the loss of top assistant, Tim Grgurich, who left the franchise before the season’s start.
The Nuggets are selling the idea they’ll be content to keep Anthony through the Feb. 24 trade deadline if no one meets their demands. The Nuggets want to package Anthony and Chauncey Billups(notes) for a deal that includes Danilo Gallinari(notes), Raymond Felton(notes), the expiring contract of Eddy Curry(notes) and a draft pick, the New York Daily News reported. Another source said Denver is still pushing for more Knicks players, including rookies Landry Fields(notes) and Timofey Mozgov(notes), in the package.
“This is like the Nets talks all over again: Denver keeps moving the goal posts,” one league source said. “They don’t know what they want there.”
As the Daily News reported, the wild card is Knicks owner James Dolan and the looming possibility he could overrule his president and cut a deal with Denver himself. There are fears that Dolan is listening too much to former president and coach Isiah Thomas and possibly agents and representatives for Anthony who have agendas to undermine Walsh.
“Donnie isn’t going to make a one-sided deal and gut his team to get this done now,” said one league source who regularly speaks to Walsh. “He’ll end up with two unhappy stars because they have no supporting cast. But if Dolan gets more involved in this, he could really makes a mess of this.”


New Orleans Hornets general manager Dell Demps remains one of the most aggressive suitors on the trade market, looking to add scoring and size to his roster, sources said.
The Hornets and David West(notes) have ended talks on a contract extension, but Demps will live with the possibility of losing West for nothing when West opts out of the $7.5 million owed him in the final year of his contract this summer. Demps will not try to trade his power forward before the Feb. 24 deadline, sources said.
Demps will try to get Chris Paul(notes) and West help for the season’s final stretch run to get them into the playoffs.
The Hornets have tried to engage the Nuggets for shooting guard J.R. Smith(notes), but Denver seems reluctant to move Smith until there’s a resolution on the Anthony talks. Portland’s two available centers – Marcus Camby(notes) and Joel Przybilla(notes) – are intriguing to most teams searching for size, but the Hornets don’t appear to have pieces that appeal to the Blazers. Portland already has control of the Hornets’ conditional 2011 first-round pick from the Jerryd Bayless(notes) trade in October.
New Orleans has a strong interest in Cleveland Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison(notes), but no team seems willing to trade for the two years, and $28 million left on his contract. Cleveland has shown no desire to negotiate a buyout on Jamison’s contract, and sources said Jamison isn’t going to pressure the issue.
The Hornets will likely be in pursuit of New Jersey Nets forward Troy Murphy(notes) once the Nets reach a buyout agreement with him after the trade deadline. Nets coach Avery Johnson made clear he didn’t want Murphy after the three-team trade that brought him from the Indiana Pacers. Trade talks have gone nowhere for Murphy, who has an expiring contract. Nets GM Billy King will ultimately work a buyout to free Murphy to sign elsewhere.
In addition to the Hornets, several other teams are expected to show interest in Murphy, including the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, sources said.


After signing Josh Childress(notes) to a five-year, $33.5 million contract over the summer, the Phoenix Suns are unsuccessfully trying to push him on the trade markets, league executives said. Childress has averaged 5.2 points in 17 minutes per game. … New Jersey’s Travis Outlaw(notes) – another overpriced summer signee at five years and $35 million – has been offered in deals, but there are no takers. Nets fans can thank Johnson for pushing that deal onto the franchise’s payroll. … The Philadelphia 76ers have struggled to find a trade for shooter Jason Kapono(notes), who has fallen out of Doug Collins’ rotation. The Sixers could be willing to work a buyout for Kapono after the deadline, sources said. … After winning seven of their first nine games under interim coach Frank Vogel, the Indiana Pacers have backed away from the trade market and are no longer aggressively looking to shake up their roster, sources said. Indiana previously had been willing to listen to offers for Danny Granger(notes). … The Chicago Bulls are still making calls on J.R. Smith to solve their shooting guard issues, but red flags on Smith’s character have made the Bulls cautious. “They just don’t want to mess that locker room up,” one source with knowledge of the talks said. “The Bulls have too good of a [locker] room right now.” … Richard Hamilton(notes) will have to be willing to give back a significant portion of the two years, $25 million owed him to get a buyout on his contract. Sources said the Celtics still remain intrigued with Hamilton as a scorer off the bench. … The Knicks are telling free-agent center Earl Barron(notes) to stay in shape and they’ll touch base after the trade deadline.
Adrian Wojnarowski is the NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

[jameskobe234]

LATEST HEADLINES - NBA NEWS RSS Feeds E-News Sign Up Share 0 Aldridge: Knicks put together 'final' offer for Carmelo
By David Aldridge, TNT analyst
Posted Feb 20 2011 7:16PM - Updated Feb 21 2011 12:08AM

The Carmelo Anthony saga entered the home stretch Sunday, with the New York Knicks making what some have termed a "final" offer to the Denver Nuggets for the four-time All-Star .

The deal includes forward Danilo Gallinari, guard Raymond Felton and forward Wilson Chandler, along with at least one first-round draft pick and the likelihood of another first to come when and if the Knicks move unused center Eddy Curry and his expiring contract to a third team. But the Nuggets will not make a final decision today on whether to accept the Knicks or New Jersey Nets' offer for Anthony, who played in the All-Star game in Los Angeles Sunday.

A league source involved in the discussions said Sunday afternoon that the Nuggets are not necessarily convinced that New York's offer is its last, although the Knicks have maintained that to the Nuggets in the last two days. Denver, according to another league source, would prefer to have guard Landry Fields and center Timofey Mozgov in the trade instead of Gallinari, but the Knicks have refused to include those two young players, hoping to keep them to surround Anthony and fellow All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire.

Anthony and his representatives finally met Saturday with the Nets' leadership group, which included owner Mikhail Prokhorov, team CEO Brett Yormark, minority owner Jay-Z and team president Billy King. The Nets came away from the meeting "confident," according to another league source, that Anthony would accept a trade to New Jersey and sign the $65 million contract extension the Nets have insisted be part of a potential trade. However, two other sources continued to maintain Sunday that Anthony has no interest in signing the extension or playing for the Nets, and remains committed to the Knicks.

If Anthony were to wait until the offseason, he could terminate the final year of contract and sign in New York as an unrestricted free agent. But with the uncertainty of what a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players will look like, Anthony would be gambling with the potential loss of tens of millions of dollars if he opted for free agency. The league is looking for, among another concessions, the implementation of a hard salary cap that would likely impose bigger restrictions on what teams could pay even their star players.

The Nets' offer for Anthony would send guards Devin Harris and Ben Uzoh, along with forward Troy Murphy and rookie forward Derrick Favors, and four first-round picks to Denver in exchange for Anthony, guard Chauncey Billups, forward Renaldo Balkman and center Sheldon Williams. Murphy would then be re-routed to another team, along with one of the draft picks. That team is expected to be the Golden State Warriors, who'll likely do a Murphy deal with New Jersey even if the Anthony trade falls through.

The Nuggets have preferred New Jersey's offer, with the prospect of adding a potential star in Fields and numerous draft picks that could faciitate a quick rebuild. However, the Knicks trade would save the team millions immediately and might allow Denver to compete in the interim in the Western Conference.

The Knicks took the unusual step Sunday of issuing a press release indicating that owner James Dolan, team president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D'Antoni were all in agreement about the pursuit of Anthony. Numerous media reports have indicated that Walsh and D'Antoni don't want to pursue Anthony and would prefer continuing to rebuild slowly, and that Dolan--perhaps at the urging and assistance of former team president and coach Isiah Thomas--is pushing the Anthony pursuit.

A source expressed doubt Sunday that Walsh and D'Antoni are aboard for Anthony, despite the statement. "Everybody's got to play along on this," the source said.

[FAQ]

Deron Williams wants be a Knick ?

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com dropped a bombshell Saturday night amid talk of a Dolan-Isiah-Walsh conflict over Melo, the Nets' meeting with Anthony, and this whole ugly mess. From Berger:

A person with knowledge of the conversations told CBSSports.com on Saturday that Jazz point guard Deron Williams began informing close associates after last season that if Stoudemire wound up in New York, Williams would follow him there as a free agent in 2012. If the Knicks got Anthony with the three-year extension under current rules, it is not clear whether they'd have enough cap space to add a player such as Williams, Chris Paul or Dwight Howard when the trio become unrestricted free agents after next season.

Deron Williams and the Knickerbocker issue - CBSSports.com

[FAQ]

I got these rumors from my friend who works for a Sports news channel .

Aside from the rumors that the Nuggets is closing on a deal to send Melo to the Knicks ...

• Celtics is looking for a guard and it's Anthony Parker of Cavs .
• For some weird reason the Heat is trying to acquire Eddy Curry .
• Blazers is trying to unload Marcus Camby .
• Warriors are looking to land a big man like Kaman , Nene , McGee , and Aldridge but looks like they can't get one of them since they are only offering Drendan Wright and Dan Gadzuric . They're also considering getting Troy Murphy .

[KE-25]

I hear the Nets are preparing for post signing of Melo with the Knicks, they would send two first-round picks to Denver for Timofey Mozgov and either Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, or Raymond Felton, assuming that Carmelo Anthony is traded to the Knicks.

I really think Melo will land in a Knick uniform with NY giving more than Denver bargained .... I can't see Denver budging , It's Sad to see a good machine in the Knicks broken up for Melo ... then again its interesting to see outcome.

On other things: JamesKobe234

Let's ease up on the copy and pasting, we'd like to see more personal thoughts, opinions etc....

[FAQ]

^^ Good move for the Nuggets cuz if they have to wait for Thursday , they'll get low-ball offers . Also , Melo is leaving Denver anyways - so better have something in return rather than lose him for nothing .

Knicks - Denver closing in on Melo deal

The Knicks and Nuggets closed in on a trade sending Carnelo Anthony to New York Monday night, with multiple league sources telling CBSSports.com that the trade was on the brink of happening.

The framework of the deal, which is expected to be completed Tuesday, would send Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov and New York's 2014 first-round pick to Denver for Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams and Anthony Carter, sources said. The Timberwolves were fully on board with the deal, agreeing to take Eddy Curry's expiring contract along with Anthony Randolph from the Knicks. Corey Brewer would go from Minnesota to Denver.

Knicks close in on Melo deal - CBSSports.com

[lonelyboyz]

Carmelo Anthony NYK

[piaosigua]

lig-ona na sa NYK oi.