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According to the source, the Nuggets are hesitant to take back Luol Deng as part of a deal with the Bulls because Denver is leery of taking on long-term contracts with the collective bargaining agreement set to expire on June 30, 2011. Deng is two years into a six-year, $71 million contract.

Noah will make $3.1 million this season in the fourth year of his rookie deal. He would become a restricted free agent next season unless the Bulls extend his contract.

Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday that an NBA source with knowledge of Anthony's wishes told him Anthony still hopes to convince Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri to trade him, and he prefers a move to the New York Knicks or Bulls.

The Nuggets offered Anthony a three-year, $65 million extension through 2014, but if he rejects it, the team will have to consider trading the forward who has guided them to seven straight playoff berths.

"I think I'm going to convince him to be a Nugget," Ujiri said on Aug. 31. "No, I don't know, I can't make a judgment on that. Like I said, it's a process and until he tells me that ... we want him back, the city wants him back, ownership wants him back."

Anthony has never come out and said he wanted to be traded, however.

At his basketball camp this summer, Anthony dismissed all the speculation of his impending departure from Denver: "I've been hearing that for five years. I'm a Denver Nugget. I'm here, I'm with the Nuggets. I don't become a free agent until next year, if I decide not to take that extension."

Anthony, 26, has averaged 24.7 points per game in his career, including 28.2 last season.

- Can we top the Bulls offer and if so...do we really want to?

Anthony prefers move to Bulls, Knicks
Marc J. Spears

By Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports 15 hours, 13 minutes ago

Carmelo Anthony still hopes to persuade the Denver Nuggets to trade him, preferably to either the Chicago Bulls or New York Knicks, an NBA source with knowledge of Anthony’s wishes told Yahoo! Sports.

The Knicks have limited assets to offer the Nuggets, which makes the Bulls a more appealing potential trade partner. The Bulls can offer a replacement small forward in Luol Deng(notes), as well as two young forwards in James Johnson(notes) and Taj Gibson(notes). New York officials would like to make a run at signing Anthony next summer if he were to opt to become a free agent. The Knicks will have salary-cap room with Eddy Curry’s(notes) contract expiring after the season.
More From Marc J. Spears

While Anthony would prefer a trade to either the Bulls or Knicks, he knows the Nuggets could decide to send him elsewhere. Yahoo! Sports has previously reported that the Los Angeles Clippers, New Jersey Nets and Houston Rockets have expressed interest in Anthony.

The Nuggets have offered Anthony a three-year, $65 million contract extension, but Anthony is reluctant to sign the deal because of concerns about the franchise’s future. Coach George Karl is returning from his second battle with cancer and entering the final year of his contract. Forward Kenyon Martin(notes) and guards J.R. Smith(notes) and Arron Afflalo(notes) will be free agents after this season and center Nene could join them if he opts out of the final year of his contract. Point guard Chauncey Billups(notes) also could hit the market because the Nuggets are obligated to pay only $3.7 million of his $14.2 million salary for 2011-12 if he’s waived at the end of the season.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the Nuggets, Anthony would like to be traded before the season starts. New Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has not had a face-to-face meeting with Anthony since he was hired on Aug. 31.

PresIke wrote:

The Knicks have limited assets to offer the Nuggets, which makes the Bulls a more appealing potential trade partner. The Bulls can offer a replacement small forward in Luol Deng(notes), as well as two young forwards in James Johnson(notes) and Taj Gibson(notes).

okay, i know sometimes we overrate our players, but this is a clear undervaluing of the knicks vs. the bulls.

deng? he's way overpaid and no mega star or youngin with potential. gibson is a nice role player, and johnson could be something but compare them to gallo or randolph and i am sorry it's not even close. wouldn't the nuggest prefer eddy curry's expiring than deng?

please, someone convince me this is an unfair assessment, otherwise yahoo's constant statement that the knicks have limited assets seems silly.

we have zero overpaid contracts at this point other than eddy, who's expiring anyway.

Yeah, I have to agree. Deng's deal is that appealing. Then again, Denver might decide to salvage this coming season and Deng would help them make the playoffs.

DurzoBlint wrote:I would be so pissed if the Bulls wind up with him. We have been eclipsed by their shadow for years; this trend need to end. Jersey is back where they belong, our next objective should be the subjugation of Chitown Basketball

They wouldn't be as good as you think. How is that backcourt going to work, and where is the frontcourt defense going to come from, considering they'd probably give up Noah AND other assets?

Amare is our clear #1 option on offense. Even with Carmelo, I'd still venture to say he'd still be our #1 option - so no necessary need to trade and lose some of our cheap assets for a #2 scorer. With that said, I'm willing to part with either Gallo or Randolph, not both, to get him.

sidsanders wrote:

PresIke wrote:

The Knicks have limited assets to offer the Nuggets, which makes the Bulls a more appealing potential trade partner. The Bulls can offer a replacement small forward in Luol Deng(notes), as well as two young forwards in James Johnson(notes) and Taj Gibson(notes).

okay, i know sometimes we overrate our players, but this is a clear undervaluing of the knicks vs. the bulls.

deng? he's way overpaid and no mega star or youngin with potential. gibson is a nice role player, and johnson could be something but compare them to gallo or randolph and i am sorry it's not even close. wouldn't the nuggest prefer eddy curry's expiring than deng?

please, someone convince me this is an unfair assessment, otherwise yahoo's constant statement that the knicks have limited assets seems silly.

we have zero overpaid contracts at this point other than eddy, who's expiring anyway.

unless the writer is figuring the knicks wont unload ar/gallo? for sure we dont have many decent near term 1st round picks to add.

If the Bulls do unload Noah, which I think is unlikely, then we'd have to unload a minimum of Ar or Gallo along Chandler, Walker, Buke's expiring, Curry etc.