[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

According to Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post, the Nuggets are more than willing to trade Anthony IF he doesn’t accept a 3 year/$65 million contract extension that’s sitting on the table right now. Anthony can opt out next summer.

Owner, Stan Kroenke, is determined to not let Anthony do to Denver what LeBron, Wade and Bosh are doing to Cleveland, Miami and Toronto.

Thoughts?

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

I remember when New Jersey offered the 10th pick, 21st pick and I believe a couple players for Melo in 2008

I don’t know, I don’t see him getting traded.

[morgatilParticipant]

Come on OKC….. pull the trigger. Future picks, plus Green, plus some other guys with a pulse.

Build around Westbrook, Durant, Ibaka and Melo.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Morgtail, I don’t think Denver would move him in the division.

I would have to believe he goes West.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Kroenke is a tough negotiator and isn’t afraid to trade a marquee star. He’ll trade Anthony before Denver is put in a situation where Anthony could walk away without the Nuggets getting anything in return.

Do you think Melo should sign the extension?

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

No, If I’m Melo- I don’t sign.

That Denver team could barely win a division title let alone a NBA title. They have Portland, OKC and Utah there. Once you get out of there, you go to LA, PHX, Dallas etc.

Like I said, If I’m Melo- I’d go to the Eastern Conference.

[dolla130Participant]

the bulls should try and trade deng and james johnson and two #1 picks for melo because he would fit in with rose better then lebron

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

I personally thought the Raptors should have traded Bosh long ago, and while they would not have gotten close to equal value for him, as teams trading expiring contracts rarely do. But, does he want to do because he wants his team not to face the constant questioning and scrutiny of that situation, or because he is afraid Melo might actually bolt? I think he is using it as a tactic, and I do not think he cares about the former. I do not think Melo is leaving Denver, I think they have straight up better players than either Cleveland, Miami or Toronto as of June 30, but if Melo did not re-up his deal, and was seriously thinking of leaving, than they should definitely get something for him to work towards rebuilding. I think the bottom line with Wade, Bron and Bosh was that all three of their teams had hope in re-signing them. Toronto was just being naiive and ridiculous, what else is new there. I mean, I live in Toronto, and I would love it if they had a great basketball team, but they always seem to get suckered into keeping a player way past the point where they can get something marginally of value for them (Carter, McGrady, soon to be Bosh. They got Chauncey Billups for Kenny Anderson in the Damon Stoudamire to Portland trade, but than traded him the summer after his rookie year, ugh.) Cleveland just had to invest hope in LeBron James, they could not trade him. It is a pride thing and they are going all or nothing, and that is a difficult and I think very emotional situation. I almost feel bad that LeBron had to be drafted by his hometown (well, close to hometown) team. That is so much pressure, and people will take that horribly if he leaves. Maybe it is LeBron’s fault for the team that was built to try and win immediately, rather than structured with young developing talent over time. He did not land in a situation where he ever did anything less than carry a team on his back, and I would say maybe only Michael Jordan and Larry Bird were the only players who did that from the beginning until the end of their careers and came out for the better (by this I mean carry your team from day 1 until retirement, not even Shaq, Wilt, Magic, Kareem or Kobe did such a thing). He wanted to win immediately, which meant the team had to spend a great deal of money on supporting players. I believe they gambled and they lost, and it came down to the overspending on Larry Hughes (who just seemed like a very bad fit) and the huge contract of Zydrunas Ilgauskas (who landed them the talented but definition of tweener Antawn Jamison, and than a 60 year old Ilgauskas came back, which I think should make conspiracy theorists who dislike LeBron and thought it was cheating more happy than pissed off).

My take is that loyalty is fantastic, but it is only good when it works for both parties. If LeBron had the ability of Dwyane Wade to potentially sign a couple key pieces after losing his entire team, I would think he would be more than happy to sign with Cleveland in that scenario. If the Raptors make a sign and trade with the Cavs involving Chris Bosh, LeBron will be back. But, as both of these scenarios seem completely unlikely, I do not think he has to worry about doing whatever he thinks will help him win. With as many teams as their are in the NBA, it is incredibly difficult to build a winning team. Right now, any team assembled has to at least think about having the ability to defeat the Lakers in a 7 game series. LeBron has never had a Pippen, never had a Jabbar and had Shaq when he was 38. He may dominate the ball, he may not have come up huge in every play-off series he has ever played and when teams struggle, it is usually focused on the best player. But, what did LeBron’s supporting cast ever do on their own? Mo Williams was the second leading scorer on a fairly mediocre Milwaukee team before coming to Cleveland. Antawn Jamison made it out of the first round once, and was arguably the fourth best player on his team in that series (Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Larry Hughes coming up big in a contract year). Shaq, was, well, 38. They played well, they gave people hope with their stellar regular season record, but from the first few games of the season I think people had to see huge flaws.

I myself am torn up about the situation, and would just like to see LeBron have a chance to win, as I think he has the ability to do so. I think he and Melo have always been compared to each other and connected, I know ESPN seemed to never say LeBron without adding Melo for about 3 years. Carmelo has had to carry his team as well, and while his team has always seemed to have some better pieces, they have many issues and concerns of their own. But, if Stan Kroenke (who I do not think is someone who has shown incredible fire about creating a champion, as exhibited by Melo’s career looking similar to KG’s in Minnesota, with one conference finals appearacne and 6 first round exits I believe), thinks Melo is undecided about being with Denver long term, than he should look to trade him. He would not get close to equal value, and his team would have to be rebuilt, but at least he would get maybe something more than he would if Melo left next summer. I am sure his teammates would be pretty upset, particularily Chauncey Billups, but it would be up to Stan. But I will put it this way, I think the players would be more understanding of another player making the decision of where they want to play rather than the ownership. The bottom line is that this is a business, and loyalty only goes so far. Kevin Garnett raised a good point in saying you can not get back your youth. KG trade rumors started coming after his 4th year in the league, and he did not get traded until he was already in his early 30’s. Would it have been better for him to look for winning options when he was younger, or was it better to wait for the right situation when he was already past his prime? He won a ring, but I have a feeling that most of these players have ambitions that definitely surpass that.

[meisi4Participant]

i thougt about this myself and i think it would require melo to demand out..
and i think not taking a max money extension would basicly mean right? its not max Years but max Money i assume?

interesting and i will keep eyes and ears open for this….

so if this offer is really made:
i aussume melo takes it because of CBA issues next year right?
but if he doesnt i think Denver would be clever to explore Trade options…
but that would definatly mean rebuilding because you wont get back the same value for your Team than you gave up right?

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

Interestingly enough, Denver should have a good deal of salary cap space open up next year.

If Carmelo doesn’t pick up his option. And even if Nene picks up his own option for 12 million (as he probably will I’m sure) the Nuggets could only have 5 players under contract (Nene, Birdman, Afflalo, Lawson and Renaldo Balkman) for 2011-2012 for a total of about 22 million. Possibly allowing themselves to pursue a maquee free agent and some more solid role players as well to surround Anthony.

He could be in a very similiar position to what Dwyane Wade is in this offseason (i.e he has the option to leave but can also see what pieces his team adds before going elswehere).

I mean how would a Denver 8 man rotation in 2011-2012 like this sound for Nuggets fans?

PG Ty Lawson
SG Jamal Crawford/Arron Aflalo
SF Carmelo Anthony/Luc Mbah a Moute
PF Nene
C Marc Gasol/Chris Anderson

[tuck243Participant]

Bro, Bird had McHale n Parrish throughout his entire career? 2 of the 50 Greatest not to mention some of the best role players to ever play n another top 50 coming off the bench in Bill Walton the Celtics always had a deep team… Jordan not having a team is absurd (somewhat) too… Bj Armstrong, Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, Ron Harper, Scottie Pippen (top 50), n I believe Dennis Rodman all been to the All-Star Game… Idk if those statements totally true…. Yu need a team to get the best record in the league n yu def need it to win it all…

But to Melo, he’s a dog n I hope he go to a team where he can win… I think he needs to play wit a more dominate PG or SG… But dude is a MONSTER…

[joecheck88Participant]

al farouq aminu, chris kaman and 2 picks for melo. it gives denver picks and a young promising player plus a center and can move nene to the 4 when k mart leaves. and clippers get their number 1 option sf to go along with shooter eric gordan, low post player blake griffin, rebounder shot blocker deandre jordan and playmaker baron davis. i think it works.

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

if melo leaves i see denver trading biilups and jr smith and try and rebuild. however there are only a couple of teams good enough to get melo in a trade. Lakers,bulls,mavericks,spurs,hawks and a couple of others. remember if melo is traded the team that aquires him will want him to sign an extension, so he will not go to a losing team like NJ, TOR or any other teams like that because they risk losing him next year.

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

if melo leaves i see denver trading biilups and jr smith and try and rebuild. however there are only a couple of teams good enough to get melo in a trade. Lakers,bulls,mavericks,spurs,hawks and a couple of others. remember if melo is traded the team that aquires him will want him to sign an extension, so he will not go to a losing team like NJ, TOR or any other teams like that because they risk losing him next year.

[SDEParticipant]

i see him leaving .
Nets,Knicks,Clippers better hop on now

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

I do realize the aforementioned talent of said teams, and I could have maybe explained myself a bit more, but what I meant was that they were the stars of said teams from Day until retirement. Boston was carried on Larry Bird’s back, pretty much literally until he retired. It is a team sport, and he had some great players, of course I knew he had Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish, at times he had Cedric Maxwell, Danny Ainge, Bill Walton, Dennis Johnson (Maxwell and Johnson both earned Finals MVP trophies, though Johnson’s was won when he was on Seattle), the list goes on, but who was always the main player? It lived and died with Bird. LA slowly went from big man to guard in both of their acclaimed duo’s, by the time Wilt got to LA Jerry West was the man (and Elgin was at the start of West’s career), so on and so forth. The only players I have found that were the best players on their team since the very beginning until their very end have been Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. Both got help from their teammates of course, but both of them were catalysts for them being there in the first place. Indeed, a lot of it is situational, and I am sure LeBron, Larry or Michael would not have minded someone challenging them for being that best player, but no one on their team ever has come close. You can say Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were in the same boat, but I feel Shaq was fantastic his first year in Miami, until he let Wade do the heavy lifting, and I also feel Chauncey Billups was the man for the Nuggets when they made the conference finals in 2009. Also, you do not find many PG’s more dominant than Chauncey Billups on a match-up to match-up basis, though SG is definitely and has always been a problem with the utter inconsistency of JR Smith (not to mention the Allen Iverson experiment). That is what I was saying, I know my history, and yes, it is a radical claim and one that seems like it discounts the teams these players won with, but it is a statement I find to best exemplify what LeBron has gone through, maybe minus the talent around him of the two players I mentioned.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

I would love NY to pick up some small, nice pieces to look respectable for the 2010 season and go full commando on Melo in 2011

[jerb2011Participant]

HELL NAW!! Melo is a ball-hog and can’t play defense for shit. Not only would he take shots from KD, OKC thrives on playing defense and Melo would only slow them down. He should leave the division period. It’s in his best interest, money-wise.

[derelict13Participant]

He’s kind of a clown, and does not have all the qualities of a superstar player (only plays offense, no leadership), but he is still more deserving of a max salary than boozer/amare/johnson. I see a lot of teams pushing to acquire him. Denver needs to rebuild, the thug team they’ve thrown together has reached the limit of they’re ability to work together. Now is probably a time to blow up the team and start over.

[jerb2011Participant]

v v v v DOWN THERE v v v v

[OldSkoolBasketballParticipant]

I read something saying Melo and CP3 has also joined the discussion about 2010 free agency. Of course not as free agents but possibly trade pieces for this summer.

[Author]

Posts