NY would love to get Melo but at their price, which was just passed with the inclusion of Gallo; and heck, their best price would have be in free agency.

All throughout this season, leaks about the deal were reported on at every step, and my assumption was that the leaks came from CAA - generally, Denver, NJ, NY have no advantage for it.

Now, Melo is a fine, fine player, but starting his extension at $20M? Come on. Knowing full well the limitations of the salary cap and what Miami just accomplished? A player who is known only for one side of the ball is not worth that much; this is not Arenas or Rachard Lewis bad but it is overpaying. I can see those number being given to him IF he stayed in Denver, but not on another team.

Denver is not getting what they would like, but something a bit less. NY is not getting what they would like either, but something a little less. What is Melo giving up? Or are NY and Denver going to capitulate and give him EXACTLY what he wants knowing well that they both are not?

I hope the Nuggets and NY ownership teams puts the squeeze on Melo: Start your extension at $14M.

I have seen this below quote and context about Anthony receiving a proposal and then having to "approve" it in several different articles. What the **** is this?

Informed that Anthony had stated he wants to be presented with a legitimate trade proposal to consider by the end of the weekend, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told CBSSports.com, "He'll have something."

Why is Anthony being presented with a legitimate trade proposal? He can be presented with a contract extension and outline of what is going down, but it seems to me CAA/Melo have positioned THEMSELVES as the linchpin of what is going down (not as an even partner here) and that NY and Denver are afterthoughts in this process.

I don't like it.

I also don't like how Melo pretty much left the Knicks out to dry in this negotiation. If he wanted NY so bad, why not force Denver's hand and exclude NJ altogether? Melo actually caused a bidding war that made us lose an asset we didn't want to lose. That's some grimy crap! All he had to do was make it clear he only would sign with NY. Just tell the Nuggets he won't sign with NJ.

As usual we get screwed and pay too much, but I still want the deal to go thru. NJ would've also overpaid, so we wouldn't have been the only ones.

martin wrote:

CashMoney wrote:Melo doesn't have a no trade clause. He doesn't want to be a rent a player for the rest of the year and run the risk of losing upwards of $30 million. The Nuggets are the ones in the drivers seat here. As a franchise they have to get the most they can.

They also have the most to lose, cause Melo can walk away for nothing, so they are not entirely in the driver's seat either.

I think they have the most leverage. Denver could just as easily say the extension is off the table and they know that the Knicks and Nets will give them what they want. Dalls already said they would take him as a rent a player but who knows if they're offer would be acceptable anyway.

martin wrote:Denver is obviously in a tough spot and their best deal is with NJ.

NY would love to get Melo but at their price, which was just passed with the inclusion of Gallo; and heck, their best price would have be in free agency.

All throughout this season, leaks about the deal were reported on at every step, and my assumption was that the leaks came from CAA - generally, Denver, NJ, NY have no advantage for it.

Now, Melo is a fine, fine player, but starting his extension at $20M? Come on. Knowing full well the limitations of the salary cap and what Miami just accomplished? A player who is known only for one side of the ball is not worth that much; this is not Arenas or Rachard Lewis bad but it is overpaying. I can see those number being given to him IF he stayed in Denver, but not on another team.

Denver is not getting what they would like, but something a bit less. NY is not getting what they would like either, but something a little less. What is Melo giving up? Or are NY and Denver going to capitulate and give him EXACTLY what he wants knowing well that they both are not?

I hope the Nuggets and NY ownership teams puts the squeeze on Melo: Start your extension at $14M.

I have seen this below quote and context about Anthony receiving a proposal and then having to "approve" it in several different articles. What the **** is this?

Informed that Anthony had stated he wants to be presented with a legitimate trade proposal to consider by the end of the weekend, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told CBSSports.com, "He'll have something."

Why is Anthony being presented with a legitimate trade proposal? He can be presented with a contract extension and outline of what is going down, but it seems to me CAA/Melo have positioned THEMSELVES as the linchpin of what is going down (not as an even partner here) and that NY and Denver are afterthoughts in this process.

I don't like it.

It's always been about the money. Playing in New York is a distant second. I'm not mad at that. Go get paid. There may never be another opportunity to make this kinda money in your life. I'm mad because Melo's handled this entire process like a bitch. He's forcing his way here by putting the squeeze on us. The **** kinda sense does that make? If you want out of Denver so bad, why not put the squeeze on them? Now this dude is frontin like he's actually considering Jersey. He would've been there a long time ago if that was really the case. And if he is actually willing to sign with Jersey then he's folding under the pressure. I wish the Knicks would just walk away but we all know that ain't happening as long that greedy fat hobbit is handling negotiations for the Knicks. I guess the real question is...Why couldn't Charles Dolan have bought the Nets?

martin wrote:

nixluva wrote:Yeah I saw that too. I don't like it, but at this point I think it's still a win for NY despite the fact that our two stars are getting paid a TON. There's no Miami Big 3 discount going on in NY. We pay full fare for our players and they don't care if we can add another star or not.

I also don't like how Melo pretty much left the Knicks out to dry in this negotiation. If he wanted NY so bad, why not force Denver's hand and exclude NJ altogether? Melo actually caused a bidding war that made us lose an asset we didn't want to lose. That's some grimy crap! All he had to do was make it clear he only would sign with NY. Just tell the Nuggets he won't sign with NJ.

As usual we get screwed and pay too much, but I still want the deal to go thru. NJ would've also overpaid, so we wouldn't have been the only ones.

This is the conclusion I am coming to. Melo cares more about $ than joining a team at a reasonable price that would also set it up for position to build a championship.

Some may argue that, well, Amare got his $100M deal and so should Melo. I disagree: Amare took the first big step and it was a monumental risk for him and he had to break fresh ground, Melo and everyone else does not; ie, Amare has to shoulder the load the LeBron did in Cleveland and that Dwight Howard is doing in Orlando.

So the real power through all of this has seemingly been in the hands of Anthony and his people.

Now in the final hours we have our fat little rich owner- our "closer"- trying to get his hands on Anthony's "instrument" at almost any cost. Dolan can't see how the Nyets are being played as he is too preoccupied with his desire for Anthony to see the corner he has been boxed into.

We will end up with an entertaining team which sells tickets, gets a lot of press, wins 50-55, but never beats the big boys in the end. Our fate will also be linked to the new CBA agreement, which can potentially hamstring us, and keep us from getting our final piece.

Welcome to mediocre success.

Chris Paul
Fields or random free agent
Melo
STAT
Mozgov or random free agent"

crzymdups - CAA does not have a "vision" of what the Knicks starting five should look like. Is Donnie Walsh on the take in your conspiracy theory?

CAA ONLY has individual properties they are attempting to manipulate into the most lucrative markets available.

The Answer Man is with martin on any involvement of a mega company at any level of forced negotiations. NBA owners don't like players or their agents wielding power either. The collective bargaining discussions in both the NFL and NBA will not be pretty.

The uncertainly of the CBA gives Denver leverage (there is NO escaping that fact) and gave Anthony motivation.

Yes, it would be nice if we could remove the CBA from the equation, which would give Anthony and the Knicks the tools to strong-arm the Nuggets, but it just isn't the case.

Anyway arguing that Anthony should just go all-in on the Knicks and the Knicks should wait for Denver's phonecall at the deadline is assuming with certainty that the strategy would work.

This is a player's league, always has been, which is exactly why every 5 to 7 years the owners try to get tough, because they KNOW they are at the player's mercy every year in-between.

Again, even accounting for the fact James and Bosh took less FOR Miami, look at what happened to the Cavs and Raptors. Look at what happened and is happening to the Nets. This is a PLAYER's league.

Carmelo Anthony does not play in a vacuum, he plays in a competitive market, and his ability makes him a MAX player.

Doesn't matter that he isn't the distributor James is, or a great defensive player, or a ace behind the arc. He plays in a league with 30 teams all competing against one another. That means he's gonna get max money at the end of the day.

Miami was a once-in-history circumstance and Anthony is going to be paid like who is he, one of the games best 10 players.

Accepting these inescapable truisms is going to make this trade go down a LOT easier.