Source: Denver OK dealing with Knicks
Posted on: January 26, 2011 11:24 am

The Carmelo Anthony trade talks have gone underground since Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov pulled the plug on his team's pursuit of the three-time All-Star last week. But that doesn't mean they've stopped completely.

While Nuggets officials continue to weigh their options, a person familiar with the team's strategy told CBSSports.com Wednesday that there are indications Denver could be warming to the idea of trading Melo to the Knicks. One component of such a trade, the source said, would be Anthony Randolph, with Denver officials apparently coming around in their opinion about the 21-year-old big man.

Earlier in the process, Nuggets executives were not high on Randolph, viewing him as mistake-prone and too much of a project. But that was when the Nets had 2010 No. 3 pick Derrick Favors on the table as the centerpiece of a package that far exceeded what the Knicks could offer. With New Jersey out of the mix, at least for now, the Nuggets have begun to internally re-examine the Knicks' young players.

Randolph was thought to be heading to Minnesota in exchange for a first-round pick the Knicks would then be able to use to sweeten their bid for Anthony. However, those talks have stalled -- and among the reasons is the Nuggets' renewed interest in considering Randolph as at least a peripheral piece of a trade with New York. No final decisions have been made, and it appears more likely than ever that the Anthony talks will continue to evolve all the way to the Feb. 24 deadline.

Denver's dilemma is that they much preferred dealing with the Nets as opposed to the Knicks due to their affinity for Favors and New Jersey's ability to deliver the other two commodities the Nuggets want -- cost savings and lottery picks. But once Anthony balked at making a firm commitment to a meeting with Prokhorov and Nets management last week, the Knicks became the only team in the hunt for Melo that could give Denver young players in addition to cap relief. Teams like Houston (yes) and Dallas (maybe) that are positioned to acquire Anthony in a rental deal -- i.e. without a contract extension -- would only be willing to offer cap relief in such a scenario.

The Nuggets, according to sources, continue to believe that the Nets will come back to the table despite Prokhorov unequivocally ending his team's pursuit last week. This would be in the best interests of the Nuggets, who still want what New Jersey has to offer. It would be in the best interests of the Nets, who need a star to open their new Brooklyn arena in 2012, and also would aid Anthony's representatives at Creative Artists Agency, who would benefit from an expanded market for their client. Whether it would be in Anthony's best interests is an open question. Sources have long indicated Anthony's insistence on signing a contract extension via a trade only if he were sent to the Knicks, but he has repeatedly sent mixed messages both privately and publicly. Speaking with the Denver Post Tuesday, Anthony again expressed concern about the risk of losing out on the three-year, $65 million extension that has been on the table for months.

“There are a lot of things that come into play when you look at this situation," Anthony said. "The fact that they can send you wherever they want to. The fact that, wherever they send me, would I sign the extension there? It’s a lot of stuff I think about through all of this.”

http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/27258216

nyk4ever wrote:article mentions AR specifically.. hoping a package of randolph/chandler and some picks can get this done.

man that would be great but i've a feeling Denver's going to squeeze as much out of the knicks as possible.

Nuggs will get a deal from knicks and if the nets beat it and Melo extends in brooklyn then its how it works.

Thing is, can the extension be changed? Does walsh even want to commit to that kind of money?

Nuggs are warming up to Knicks because they have to. Not because then want to.

earthmansurfer wrote:Denver isn't warming to our players, they are facing reality. No other teams are giving anything up for Melo at this point.
They already played greedy by saying they didn't like any of our players, what are they going to say once they are on there team?
Chandler will probably not want to extend with them and he can even use the "Denver doesn't like any of our players" as a reason. LOL
I do wonder if Chandler could hold up the trade, I wouldn't blame him. I would much rather get less money and play where I want.

Would you really? I would rather take more money. You can live where you want in the off-season. They're doing this to get payed, nothing else.

Panos wrote:

Moonangie wrote:Saw this on RealGM and think it's pretty good...

Dey scared now!

you see the move that isiah just pulled?

If Donnie pulls this off he'll go down in my book as the best GM this team has had in my lifetime since following the team. I was too young to truly appreciate the work done with the last championship team of the 70's. Yeah I liked the team but didn't understand the details of how teams were built and BB moves etc. We were never able to get that 2nd Superstar during the Ewing era, so this would be a lifelong dream for me. I remember how excited I was when we drafted Ewing and I thought that i'd get to see him and King play together. When that didn't happen I was so disappointed. This would fulfill that empty feeling, so I really hope that we can see something good happen for this teams future. 2 Superstars in their prime would be fun to watch over the next 5 years.