According to a ‘source familiar with Anthony’s decision-making,’ per the Denver Post…
Anthony has thrived this preseason — Thursday, he tallied 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes in a 100-95 victory over the Clippers — but privately he has kept his stance that he wants out, according to a source familiar with Anthony’s decision-making.
The source said Anthony’s camp is getting increasingly frustrated that he has yet to be dealt, desirably to an East Coast team, notably New York or New Jersey. The source maintained Anthony would also agree to a trade with Chicago, but the Nuggets won’t make the trade unless it involves Joakim Noah. The source confirmed that it is highly unlikely Anthony agrees to a trade to Philadelphia or the Clippers.
Assuming all the information is true about Anthony’s desire for a trade, he’s going about this in a really sneaky way. Publicly, he says that he’s never asked for a trade, so to his fans in Denver and around the league, he looks like the good guy. But behind the scenes, his camp is (apparently) riding the Nuggets hard to get him traded. It’s a good cop/bad cop thing…but how dumb does he think his fans are? This news is coming out in a steady stream, it has to be true, right? And just because he hasn’t personally asked the Nuggets for a trade, if his agent asks for a trade, isn’t it the same damned thing?
If a mob boss orders a hit and one of his grunts carries it out, the mob boss is still guilty of murder, right? In other words, whoever is calling the shots — in this case, Anthony — is the one ultimately responsible.
One thing’s for sure – Larry Brown will have his team competing. But with the loss of Raymond Felton to free agency, Charlotte turns to D.J. Augustin as its starting point guard, while Shaun Livingston is expected to back him up. Unless the light suddenly goes on for one of these guys, the Bobcats are going to struggle to make the playoffs in the much-improved Eastern Conference. I think their main competition for the #8 spot is the Knicks, which should be interesting because the two teams play such different styles. Cap-wise, the Bobcats won’t have any financial flexibility until 2012 when Boris Diaw, Eduardo Najera, and (probably) Gerald Wallace come off the books. The Bobcats are in no man’s land. They’re not good enough to compete for a title, but just good enough to miss landing a sure-fire star in the lottery.
I feel bad for Steve Nash, who will likely go down as one of the greatest players never to play in a Finals. The former back-to-back MVP lost Amare Stoudemire to the Knicks, and the Suns replaced him with Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick. I do like the addition of Childress, but if they’re asked to play power forward, Turkoglu and Warrick are going to have a lot of trouble on the defensive end. If Phoenix can keep the incredible chemistry that it developed last season, the Suns could finish a few spots higher and compete for a playoff spot, but without Stoudemire’s finishing ability, the team is going to be overmatched most nights. Payroll-wise, the Suns will have the flexibility to add a good player next summer, but it will mean the loss of Jason Richardson, who is in the final year of his deal. Sadly, I think the days of Nash playing for a legit contender are over. It was fun while it lasted.
The Nets only won 12 games last season, but there are reasons to be optimistic about this team. Brook Lopez is developing into an All-Star caliber center and Terrence Williams played well in the last two months of his rookie season. Devin Harris is still a dangerous guard, and he’ll be reunited with his former coach, Avery Johnson. Throw in a good power forward (Troy Murphy) to mentor the #3 overall pick (Derrick Favors) and there are some pieces in place in New Jersey. Of course, Nets fans want to see the franchise swing a deal for Carmelo Anthony, but that plan looks to be on hold (or dead?) for now. He’d be a great fit at small forward, though after missing out on LeBron, the Nets did fork out $35 million at the position by signing Travis Outlaw this summer. That contract could come back to bite them, but for now the team has plenty of financial flexibility and a projected payroll of only $38 million heading into next season. The Nets would rather trade and extend Melo this season because they know the risk inherent anytime a player hits free agency.
