A variety of reports indicate this morning that the New Jersey Nets are simply waiting for the Denver Nuggets to go ahead and pull the trigger on a trade that would land them Carmelo Anthony.
Here is CBS New York summarizing the state of talks involving the 26-year-old three-time All-Star.
The only thing standing in the way of Carmelo Anthony becoming a member of the New Jersey Nets is the Denver Nuggets.
A person close to the trade talks told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Nets are waiting for the Nuggets to sign off on a three-team deal that would bring Anthony to New Jersey. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were ongoing.
The person who spoke to The AP indicated New Jersey would ship Derrick Favors, the No. 3 pick overall in the draft, and at least one first-round pick to the Nuggets for Anthony. New Jersey would also send point guard Devin Harris to Charlotte. There were other pieces to the trade that the person wouldn’t discuss.
Anthony averaged 28.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season in leading the Nuggets (53-29) to their second straight Northwest Division title. The 26-year-old three-time All-Star had 30.7 points and 8.5 rebounds a game in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Knicks and their fans are still hopeful that they can sneak in the back door and snatch Anthony. It seems possible, but unlikely, that Denver’s waffling will enable that.
Denver’s stall tactic has opened the doors for other teams, including the Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, to try to negotiate with the Nuggets. But the Nets still seem to be offering the most and remain front-runners if Denver trades the All-Star small forward.
Anthony’s first choice is to play for the Knicks, but they don’t have first-round draft picks to offer. The Nuggets want salary relief and first-round picks.
The Nets are offering two No. 1s – their own next year and Golden State’s protected 2012 first choice – as well as this year’s No. 3 overall pick, Derrick Favors. Denver also would receive Andrei Kirilenko from Utah.
It seems like Anthony to the Nets is the only logical conclusion at this point. It’s obvious the Nuggets don’t want to do this, but they really have little choice. It just seems to be taking time for that to sink in.
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