Is Melo Going To Be Traded To the Bulls Or Knicks?
Well, once again reports are leaking that Carmelo Anthony wants the Nuggets to trade him and it may be time to think realistically about parting ways with the star. According to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports, Anthony would like to be traded to either the Chicago Bulls or the New York Knicks before the season starts. Here is a little part of the article:
"Carmelo Anthony(notes) 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."
Now it doesn’t mean that these are his most likely destinations but it does mean that Melo most likely wants out of Denver and most likely would want to be dealt out East. And nobody can fault him for that, with George Karl’s health and not to mention the coach going into his final year under contract, but also with the Nuggets only having five players under contract after next season. The bottom line there remains a lot of uncertainties with Denver’s squad.
It’s a tough situation for the Nuggets, because they really can’t do any moves (trade J.R. Smith and Kenyon and resign Chauncey Billups) until Anthony’s decision becomes official.
And when the decision becomes official or when the Nuggets are 100 percent certain he isn’t going to sign the extension, the three most likely destinations are the Bulls, Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
- CHICAGO – As Spears stated, the Bulls package would be centered around Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and James Johnson. It also would give Anthony the best chance of winning. Combine him with young star Derrick Rose, a very skilled Carlos Boozer and add in Joakim Noah and the Bulls could rival any team in the East.
A package of Deng, Gibson and Johnson (and draft picks) isn’t ideal for the Nuggets, but it wouldn’t be the worst deal. Deng is many time overlooked due to uncap-friendly contract, but he is a very intelligent player, great complimentary scorer, good defender and rebounder, and the best part of his game is he knows what he can and can’t do on the court.
Gibson has proven he can be a big man in the League and he would give the Nuggets their healthiest power forward in years and a duo of Gibson and Al Harrington would be nice package next to Nene.
Johnson struggled during his rookie season, but when given playing time he didn’t disappoint. He scored in double-digits four times in a stretch of five games he started, including a career-high 20 points against the Heat. - NEW YORK – Gallinari is the only certain piece in any deal with the Knicks, but for a deal to get done with New York before the season two things need to happen 1) the Knicks need to be willing to part ways with the young and talented Anthony Randolph and 2) they need to find a taker for Eddy Curry’s contract (a useless contract isn’t something Denver wants in return). Both seem like long shot possibilities. But Gallinari remains intriguing for the Nuggets. He is a talented prospect, not because he is such a talented shooter but he is also surprisingly athletic and also a fiery attitude. Not to mention he continues to improve.
- NEW JERSEY (Soon Brooklyn) – This the most ideal place for both Anthony and the Nuggets and while the Nets weren’t mentioned in the article doesn’t mean they are off of Melo’s list. A trade with New Jersey places ‘Melo close to New York, but also with a team talented enough to go further than the Knicks next season. Not to mention he gets to team up with the Nets owner, Jay-Z, which should at least help his popularity. For the Nuggets, any trade with the Nets would have to be built around rookie Derrick Favors. At 19-years-old, Favors is a man-child. He would give the Nuggets a big man they can build around for the future, teaming him up with second year point guard Ty Lawson. And if Denver can swing a three-way trade similar to this, they could still have a competitive team next season and years to come.