Anthony, Nuggets look ready to part ways
Adrian Wojnarowski

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports Aug 26, 5:54 pm EDT

Carmelo Anthony(notes) wants out of Denver, and Worldwide Wes delivered that message to the Nuggets with all the delicacy of a jackhammer at Sunday morning services. Do yourself a favor and trade him, the agent told the organization weeks ago.

Carmelo Anthony has made it clear to the Nuggets he wants a change of scenery.
(NBAE/ Getty Images)

Denver was furnished with a short list of teams and told to get to work. Yes, this is how William Wesley and Leon Rose of CAA work now, thick with threats and ultimatums and a swagger suggesting that the sport belongs to them. After Anthony told owner-in-waiting Josh Kroenke that he still wanted out of Denver during a Sunday meeting, the Nuggets appear done trying to sell their All-Star forward on a contract extension.
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This wasn’t a productive, nor particularly pleasant, meeting and multiple sources said it could turn out to be the point of no return for Anthony and the organization. Sources insist it’s no longer a matter of if the Nuggets trade Anthony, but when, where and for whom he’s traded for.

“It’s almost a given they’re going to move him,” said a front-office executive who’s talked with the Nuggets and Anthony’s agents with CAA.

While Kroenke had several severe remedies in his back pocket if the agency didn’t back off its most strident demands, sources said Thursday night that the owner never had to go that far to get CAA to work with the Nuggets. Now agent Leon Rose and Wesley are more open-minded about potential trade destinations.

Anthony wants to leave Denver and get his three-year, $65 million contract extension now. This partnership is rounding third and rapidly reaching disrepair. Denver is willing to trade Anthony, J.R. Smith(notes) and Kenyon Martin(notes), and start over again, sources said.

The Nuggets made it clear to teams they want young players and draft picks for Anthony, league executives said. The New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers have emerged as the two most probable destinations for Anthony because they have assets that appeal to Denver. The geography works for Anthony because of his wife LaLa Vazquez’s entertainment career.

Golden State and Houston are contenders, too. What’s more, the Charlotte Bobcats are a sleeper because of Anthony’s Brand Jordan shoe deal and the team’s ability to give the Nuggets a salary-dump proposal.

Back in mid-July, the Kroenkes had to travel to New York for Anthony’s wedding to finally realize he no longer intended to sign their extension offer. The reception spiraled into an evening of Chris Paul(notes) and Anthony’s brother making toasts about a future partnership for Anthony and Paul in New York with the Knicks. With nothing to trade for Anthony, though, New York isn’t considered a strong contender in the eyes of Denver management.

Few can be as strong-minded and willful as Stan Kroenke, and it doesn’t matter the Nuggets will be turned over to his son Josh by the end of the year. Stan still will be looming over the franchise, and the billionaire has shown an old-school ability to carry through on his convictions once you’ve lost him as an ally.

With the way that CAA has tried to muscle and manipulate the market this summer, sources said Stan Kroenke, freshly approved as the St. Louis Rams owner, intends to look closely at whether the NBA should adopt a “franchise player” tag that teams could slap on superstars like the one the NFL uses. NBA owners are still far from seriously discussing that issue, but CAA’s manipulation of Anthony and Paul while under contract has become an increasingly sore subject within the league.

For now, the departure of Denver general manager Mark Warkentien and the increased influence of Kroenke adviser Bret Bearup means there won’t be much of a fight within the organization to stay the course with Anthony, sources said. Denver has hired Masai Ujiri as its new GM, but he doesn’t arrive with the authority to make major moves. Things have deteriorated too fast to believe Denver will turn back now. ‘Melo is on the market, and the bidding has begun.

Vmart wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Vmart wrote:

fishmike wrote:

iSergio wrote:Carmelo Anthony is obviously not as good as LeCon but he's one of few players who can go toe to toe and shot for shot against him. And Melo is 8-4 in his career against LeCon. That should count for something.

Let's say Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Anthony Randolph become and develope to the level of Detlef Schrempf, Corey Maggette and Tayshaun Prince (which is the most realistic scenario). You wouldn't trade these 2 of these 3 for Melo?

Let's say Gallo, Chandler and Randolph become and develop inb Dirk Nowitzki, Xavier McDaniel and Marcus Camby with PG like skills. You wouldnt trade 2 of those 3 for Melo?

No thanks. For Lebron? Yes. For Wade? Yes. Melo isnt a top 10 player. Most like top 20, and he's not making the other guys around him better. Its not like we already have a 25 year old Tim Duncan and need a scorer to put next to him. Melo is like 2 steps forward, 4 steps back. Better short term but its a 50 win ceiling team. Been there done that

Fish, I know you want to keep Chandler, Gallo and AR but lets not discredit Melo's accomplishments it really hurts your point when you say he isn't a top 10 player when he is.

Dirk
Lebron
Wade
Dwight
CP3
Gasol
Deron Williams
Steve Nash
Kevin Durant
Kobe

There's your top 10. Please tell me which guy your knocking off that list for Melo to be a top 10 guy.

the next 10:
Amare
Tyreke Evens
Melo
Billups
Granger
Joe Johnson
Derrick Rose
Gerald Wallace
...
... you get the idea

Sorry. Melo not top ten, and because he does VERY little else than score he's less valuable than some of the other guys in that bottom list. He's not a PG, he doesnt make teammates better, he doesnt defend, average rebounder, etc

Dude can score. Give him that, but I would rather have a couple of 6'10 versatile guys who impact w/ scoring, defense, rebounding...

Its team sport, not a 2on2 playground game

Any player that consistently gets his team into the playoffs year in and year out is an elite player. Melo never had the luxury of having another superstar around. Wade, Kobe and LeBron are prime example of players that were not able to get championships without a superstar. Wade needed Shaq, Kobe needed Shaq and Gasol. LeBron is trying to tag along with star players hoping to get a ring. What I don't understand about the thinking here is that Melo never had the luxury of playing with a star player just look at the players that he has worked with and you will see that never did he play with a superstar that was in his prime Kmart is damaged goods, Nene a serviceable center, JR Smith is not a great player decent player probably a backup on most teams. Billups a steady pg that is past his prime. AI is probably the best player that he has played with and at that time his decline was already evident. Melo as a focal point consistently gets his team to 50+ wins. Team him up with Amare and Felton and you are talking lock for playoffs as an upper seeded team.

I do believe that his extention contract will be a cap constraining deal but I have enough faith in Walsh to get a favorable deal in place. He will make it known that Melo for the current deal and when he becomes a FA he will give him a max FA contract at 6 years. He will let Melo know that he has a plan in effect and an extension deal will severely hinder the plan.

As far as your list is concerned I'm gonna take a few of your guys out of the list. Nash, Dirk, Wade, Williams. I'm taking Nash out because as you say Melo doesn't play defense neither does Nash. Dirk getting old and no longer can make it out of the first round either. Wade seen him get lite up by crawford for 53 points also saw Nate drop point on him at will. Wade didn't make it past first round either. I'm not putting him elite status. If Melo ain't elite then Wade is out too. Melo never had the luxury of playing with Shaq who still was dominant in a league that was basically centerless. Melo is top ten player that is a fact consistently gets his team into playoffs has not missed it since coming into the league. 50+ wins consistently. His team asks him to score he does it and does it well. I don't buy this high volume shooter nonsense. 46% is not a bad percentage go look at Kobe's percentage and you will see that he is right there with Kobe's number. He may not be the stopper that Kobe is Kobe is sg remember that. His game is a little differnet than Melo's. I want Melo on the Knicks. If it means giving some players up for him I will be accepting of the deal as long as he comes in on his current deal.

say what???

wade has been nba all-defense 2nd team 3 times, including this past season. has career averages of 2 steals and 1 block per game.

shaq was on his way seriously down when he played for the heat and said right off the bat, this is flash's team. i'm just here to help.

the year they won the championship shaq played 59 games and averaged 20 and 9.

wade played 75 games and averaged 27, 6 boards and 7 assists.

in the playoffs shaq averaged 18 and 10.

wade averaged 28, 6 and 6.

wade is and has always been >>>>>>>>>melo.

Vmart wrote:

Marv wrote:

Vmart wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Vmart wrote:

fishmike wrote:

iSergio wrote:Carmelo Anthony is obviously not as good as LeCon but he's one of few players who can go toe to toe and shot for shot against him. And Melo is 8-4 in his career against LeCon. That should count for something.

Let's say Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Anthony Randolph become and develope to the level of Detlef Schrempf, Corey Maggette and Tayshaun Prince (which is the most realistic scenario). You wouldn't trade these 2 of these 3 for Melo?

Let's say Gallo, Chandler and Randolph become and develop inb Dirk Nowitzki, Xavier McDaniel and Marcus Camby with PG like skills. You wouldnt trade 2 of those 3 for Melo?

No thanks. For Lebron? Yes. For Wade? Yes. Melo isnt a top 10 player. Most like top 20, and he's not making the other guys around him better. Its not like we already have a 25 year old Tim Duncan and need a scorer to put next to him. Melo is like 2 steps forward, 4 steps back. Better short term but its a 50 win ceiling team. Been there done that

Fish, I know you want to keep Chandler, Gallo and AR but lets not discredit Melo's accomplishments it really hurts your point when you say he isn't a top 10 player when he is.

Dirk
Lebron
Wade
Dwight
CP3
Gasol
Deron Williams
Steve Nash
Kevin Durant
Kobe

There's your top 10. Please tell me which guy your knocking off that list for Melo to be a top 10 guy.

the next 10:
Amare
Tyreke Evens
Melo
Billups
Granger
Joe Johnson
Derrick Rose
Gerald Wallace
...
... you get the idea

Sorry. Melo not top ten, and because he does VERY little else than score he's less valuable than some of the other guys in that bottom list. He's not a PG, he doesnt make teammates better, he doesnt defend, average rebounder, etc

Dude can score. Give him that, but I would rather have a couple of 6'10 versatile guys who impact w/ scoring, defense, rebounding...

Its team sport, not a 2on2 playground game

Any player that consistently gets his team into the playoffs year in and year out is an elite player. Melo never had the luxury of having another superstar around. Wade, Kobe and LeBron are prime example of players that were not able to get championships without a superstar. Wade needed Shaq, Kobe needed Shaq and Gasol. LeBron is trying to tag along with star players hoping to get a ring. What I don't understand about the thinking here is that Melo never had the luxury of playing with a star player just look at the players that he has worked with and you will see that never did he play with a superstar that was in his prime Kmart is damaged goods, Nene a serviceable center, JR Smith is not a great player decent player probably a backup on most teams. Billups a steady pg that is past his prime. AI is probably the best player that he has played with and at that time his decline was already evident. Melo as a focal point consistently gets his team to 50+ wins. Team him up with Amare and Felton and you are talking lock for playoffs as an upper seeded team.

I do believe that his extention contract will be a cap constraining deal but I have enough faith in Walsh to get a favorable deal in place. He will make it known that Melo for the current deal and when he becomes a FA he will give him a max FA contract at 6 years. He will let Melo know that he has a plan in effect and an extension deal will severely hinder the plan.

As far as your list is concerned I'm gonna take a few of your guys out of the list. Nash, Dirk, Wade, Williams. I'm taking Nash out because as you say Melo doesn't play defense neither does Nash. Dirk getting old and no longer can make it out of the first round either. Wade seen him get lite up by crawford for 53 points also saw Nate drop point on him at will. Wade didn't make it past first round either. I'm not putting him elite status. If Melo ain't elite then Wade is out too. Melo never had the luxury of playing with Shaq who still was dominant in a league that was basically centerless. Melo is top ten player that is a fact consistently gets his team into playoffs has not missed it since coming into the league. 50+ wins consistently. His team asks him to score he does it and does it well. I don't buy this high volume shooter nonsense. 46% is not a bad percentage go look at Kobe's percentage and you will see that he is right there with Kobe's number. He may not be the stopper that Kobe is Kobe is sg remember that. His game is a little differnet than Melo's. I want Melo on the Knicks. If it means giving some players up for him I will be accepting of the deal as long as he comes in on his current deal.

say what???

wade has been nba all-defense 2nd team 3 times, including this past season. has career averages of 2 steals and 1 block per game.

shaq was on his way seriously down when he played for the heat and said right off the bat, this is flash's team. i'm just here to help.

the year they won the championship shaq played 59 games and averaged 20 and 9.

wade played 75 games and averaged 27, 6 boards and 7 assists.

in the playoffs shaq averaged 18 and 10.

wade averaged 28, 6 and 6.

wade is and has always been >>>>>>>>>melo.

Most of the NBA defensive award are laughable. They give out awards based on who is the hot commodity. Tell me you didn't see Crawford light up Wade for 53 that is all defensive to you. Wade puts up the guaudy numbers that is very true but why does everyone forget that he is the sg/pg on Miami. He has to create get assists he has the ball majority of the time. That is not the case with Melo he is asked to play different role on the Nuggets. He is asked to be a scorer and sometimes be the post presence for that team. I'm just saying Melo is as top ten as Wade is. Melo elevates his game in the playoffs too just this year he averaged 30 ppg and 8.5 reb. I know Wade is top ten but so is Melo.

aw v, you're just being silly here.

Most of the NBA defensive award are laughable. They give out awards based on who is the hot commodity.

now be honest with yourself - you would NOT be discounting this if carmelo had won any. this argument is just out and out dismissible.

Tell me you didn't see Crawford light up Wade for 53 that is all defensive to you.

i don't remember it. i know that jamal's career high is listed at 52 points on January 26, 2007. is that what you’re referring to? the site i go to for game-by-game logs only goes back to 2007-2008 so i don't know if that was againist miami and how many minutes dwade played that game.

Wade puts up the guaudy numbers that is very true but why does everyone forget that he is the sg/pg on Miami. He has to create get assists he has the ball majority of the time. That is not the case with Melo he is asked to play different role on the Nuggets. He is asked to be a scorer and sometimes be the post presence for that team.

that's fine. but wade is much more effective at his role than melo is at his. dwade with the ball in his hands is averaging 25 ppg for his career on 48%, getting to the line 9 times per game, grabbling 5 boards and dishing 7 assists.

carmelo, the "post presence" is scoring the same amount at a slightly lower % (46) while getting to the line slightly less (8/game), rebounding 1 more per game for a "post presence" and getting less than half the blocks (0.4 to 1).

i wish melo WERE more of a post presence. he'd be much more effective.

I'm just saying Melo is as top ten as Wade is. Melo elevates his game in the playoffs too just this year he averaged 30 ppg and 8.5 reb. I know Wade is top ten but so is Melo.

hey i like melo and i want to get him for one of gallo/ar, curry and a #1. the guy's having a nice career:

4× All-NBA selection:
Second team: 2010
Third team: 2006, 2007, 2009
3× NBA All-Star: 2007, 2008, 2010
NBA Rookie Challenge MVP: 2005
NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004

but he's no d-f'g-wade:

NBA Champion: 2006
NBA Finals MVP: 2006
NBA Scoring Title: 2009
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2010
6× NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
5× All-NBA:
First Team: 2009, 2010
Second Team: 2005, 2006
Third Team: 2007
3× All-Defense:
Second Team: 2005, 2009, 2010
NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004
NBA All-Star Skills Challenge Champion: 2006, 2007
Miami Heat All-time Leading Scorer
Miami Heat All-time Assists Leader
2005 Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award
2006 Best NBA Player ESPY Award
2006 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year