out of respect to ESPN Insider and the rest of us paying fools, I try to only post those articles that have something remotely connected to the Knicks. Having said that...

Is Denver Melo on Anthony?

By now we know the Cavs will select LeBron James with the first pick in the NBA Draft and the Pistons will select Darko Milicic at No. 2. That means the Nuggets will select Carmelo Anthony with the third pick, right?

Umm ... let's not get ahead of ourselves. James is a godsend to Cleveland in every way imaginable. Darko eventually will give the Pistons the low-post scorer they've coveted for years. Both players are obvious fits, and both teams have been high on them for months. In other words, don't expect the Cavs or Pistons to trade these guys away, unless names like Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant are thrown around.

The Nuggets, on the other hand, have a mini-dilemma at No. 3. They like Carmelo. They think he's definitely the best player left on the board. It's just that he isn't James or Milicic (both are rated much higher on the draft board), and he's not an ideal fit in their system. The Nuggets already have two young small forwards for whom they have high hopes, Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Rodney White. Although Carmelo may have more upside, and certainly more star power, with so many other holes on the Nuggets, it isn't a slam dunk he'll land in Denver.

That poses an interesting dilemma for Kiki Vandeweghe & Co. Do they take Carmelo, like everyone expects, or do they listen to trade offers for him? Several teams later in the lottery are much higher on Carmelo and might be willing to offer a lottery pick and a young star in return.

Who's interested? Try just about everyone who missed out on one of the top three spots of the lottery. The Raptors, Heat, Bulls, Wizards, Grizzlies and the T-Wolves appear to be the most eager players if a Carmelo sweepstakes develops.

Could the Nuggets actually make out better by trading away the chance to land Anthony?

In most circumstances, the answer is no. The Raptors have little to offer, unless they're ready to dump Vince Carter (they aren't). The Heat are in the same position, unless they're willing to jettison Caron Butler (they aren't, either). And the T-Wolves probably would love to find a way to swap Wally Szczerbiak for Anthony, but with Szczerbiak's new extension kicking in this year, forget about it.

The Bulls, Wizards and Grizzlies, on the other hand, have some interesting assets to offer.

We start with the Bulls because frankly, they have the most ammunition. Would an offer of Jay Williams or Jamal Crawford and the No. 7 pick pique the Nuggets' interest? Denver is very high on French two guard Mickael Pietrus. In one swoop, the Nuggets could give their backcourt a major, major upgrade. If you're the Bulls, the trade makes a lot of sense. They need to thin out their backcourt, and they really need a versatile small forward.

Losing Williams or Crawford (sources say new GM John Paxson is higher on Crawford) won't be the end of the world, and there isn't another small forward available at No. 7 with nearly the upside of Carmelo. They've been drafting in the lottery for the past five years, but they've never been able to land an elite talent like Carmelo ... until now?

The Wizards don't have as much ammunition, but they do have a former No. 1 pick and the No. 10 pick in this year's lottery. If the team continues to clear house post-MJ, expect it to at least entertain the idea of trading Kwame Brown. If Brown is really as good as some people in the league think, it could be hard for Kiki to pass up the chance to grab another 7-footer and a lottery pick. Pietrus could still be on the board (though the Bulls are high on him) at No. 10. Add Gilbert Arenas to the mix, and the Nuggets are rolling again.

Jerry West has been very vocal about his feeling that Anthony, not Darko, should be the No. 2 pick. Is he willing to put his roster where his mouth is? Kiki wouldn't pass on the chance to swap the No. 3 pick for Pau Gasol. Just exactly how much does Mr. West actually like Anthony? It's food for thought.

DEFandREB we could get the #3 pick if we give up MILOS, KT, the #9 & 31st picks. DENVER needs a PG plus they want picks !!!

We would be in the LOTTERY again next year with a GREAT CHANCE of getting the #1 pick which will be OKAFOR from UCONN !!! I want us to lose so we can rebuild !!!

In one sweeping move, Kiki brilliantly got rid of his deadwood, positioned his club under the cap and is poised to either select Carmelo or trade him to a team that has something outstanding to offer. Why the heck would he trade the rights to Carmelo Anthony for any of our aging players? We had as much a chance of landing LeBron James in the draft lottery. Fuggetaboutit!



[Edited by - Pike on 05/28/2003 11:52:27]

Absolutely, tkf.

[b]funny thing is he didn't even have a gun or a ski mask on...

... he didn't have to... he was dealing with Layden.

I would be happy if we took our 3 picks, drafted some young guys, like Outlaw, lang, etc. and just rolled with it. True we will be bad for a few years and maybe not as bad as we think, but I do know we will be more athletic, probably more skilled and definately more exciting to watch. I will trade that in for this dog and pony of a show we are trying to sell now!!

Posted by Pike:

but, tkf... we're a player from being a contender?

lol

haha..yea and the drowning man was just a few feet from the shore..