Austin Link seems to believe that a deal involving Garnett for Andre Miller and Arron Afflalo would be logical for both teams. Of course in the real world, a deal wouldn’t make sense for either team. The Celtics really don’t have a need or a spot for Afflalo or Miller, while the Nuggets are more interested in building around their young players than adding a veteran who is past his prime.

Link also pointed out that Anderson Varajeo would be a cheaper alternative for the Nuggets and he would fit in better for the Nuggets than Garnett. A deal for Varajeo makes much more sense, because the Cleveland Cavaliers would at least have interest in Afflalo and he’d be a key part of the Cavaliers rebuilding squad.

Of course neither deal is likely, because, Afflalo can’t be traded until March 1 which is after the trade deadline and also the Nuggets are more interested in keeping their current core together.

And it wasn’t like all the Nuggets shot bad. Carmelo Anthony, Ty Lawson, Nene, Chauncey Billups and Arron Afflalo combined to shoot 13 of 40 from the field. In fact, JR Smith (shockingly) had the best game for the Nuggets. He shot 4-of-7 from the field and made one of two treys for nine points in 12 minutes.

Anthony may have been trying to force the Nuggets hand to trade him, he missed 17 of 23 shots, but still attempted eight free throws (making seven of them). However, he did grab seven boards and had three steals.

• Shelden Williams was solid, but wasn’t spectacular. He had eight points and six rebounds in the loss.
• Nene played sparingly in order to keep him healthy with the Nuggets lack of frountcourt depth, only eight early minutes and had four points and two rebounds.
• Chauncey Billups made only 1 of 7 shots and finished the game with six points, three rebounds and four assists. He missed all five of his treys, but made all four of his free throws.
• With Eric Boateng being waived on Wednesday, most likely means that veteran big man Melvin Ely will make the Nuggets final roster. Ely was solid in the loss with seven boards, a block and a steal, but he also had three turnovers and three personal fouls.
• Gary Forbes may have made the roster as well, he showed his versatility in the contest with six points, three rebounds and two assists. Forbes would be a good addition at the end of the bench for the Nuggets.

Sources coming out of the woodwork

You know it is a desperate nature when media outlets start using Bleacher Report as real journalism. But that is what seems to be happening. The article actually makes sense with a proposed trade featured around Melo to New York and the Nuggets getting Anderson Varajeo. But the sources don’t end there. Within the last two days, a source has said Melo would only play with the Knicks. However, that same day another refuted it and said he would play for the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets and New York. A source said the Nuggets would trade Melo with the main importance was financial flexibility (which the Nuggets would have if they let Anthony leave as a free agent) . However, another said the Nuggets were interested in getting Gerald Wallace, Andre Iguodala or Andrei Kirilenko in return. It is getting so ridiculous that it is hard to believe what any source says and fans should wait until Anthony requests a trade before jumping to conclusion.

Lawson extended

The Nuggets made a step ahead Thursday by making the non-braining move of extending Lawson’s contract.