Alan Hahn of Newsday has the details:
As we reported on Monday, a source with knowledge of the situation said there is “more of a sense of urgency” from the Knicks to get a deal done before the deadline rather than to wait until free agency. But that doesn’t mean the Knicks would be willing to pay top dollar if they know they’re the only bidder.
The Knicks know landing Carmelo would pave the way to attracting Chris Paul in 2012. But if Denver comes in at the 11th hour and demands the Knicks to add, say, Al Harrington (2012-13 salary of $6.68 million) or Chris Andersen’s ($5.2 million in 12-13), that would compromise their ability to sign Paul, or Deron Williams, in 2012, plus build a championship-caliber roster.
This looks like it could go one of three ways, assuming the Nets (or some other team) doesn’t step up with a new offer:
1. The Knicks and Nuggets come to terms. Trade is executed before the trade deadline.
The Knicks would like to acquire Carmelo now, but they don’t want to sell the farm to get him. The Newsday piece states that the Knicks are willing to give up Danilo Gallinari OR Wilson Chandler, and are willing to give up Raymond Felton for Chauncey Billups as well. Rookies Landry Fields and Timofey Mosgov, as well as Anthony Randolph, are also up for discussion.
I don’t think it would be wise to give up more than two of the following four players: Gallinari, Chandler, Fields or Mosgov. Fields is especially valuable since Anthony’s arrival woudn’t cut into his playing time, and he is arguably the Knicks’ best perimeter defender. Mosgov has also shown some flashes and is a 24-year-old legit seven-footer, so he has quite a bit of value as a prospect. It will be interesting to see whether or not the Knicks and Nuggets can come to terms. The article also states that the Nets thought they had a done deal before the Nuggets came back asking for more. The same thing might be happening here.
2. No trade is made. Anthony signs with the Knicks in the summer.
We don’t know if Carmelo wants to play in New York so badly that he’s willing to pass up $65 million in guaranteed money. This would be the ideal option for the Knicks, because they’d be able to sign him outright without having to give up many assets. But with the uncertainty of a new collective bargaining agreement looming large…
3. Carmelo panics when no trade is made and signs extension with Denver.
He could very well decide that playing in New York is not worth passing up the guaranteed money. Ideally, he’d get traded to the Knicks and sign the three-year extension with New York, but if the trade doesn’t go down, the money might be too good to pass up. He’s already admitted that he would take a long look at signing the extension if he isn’t moved before the trade deadline.
The thing to look for as the next week progresses is whether or not the key names in this trade are suiting up for games. If a deal is imminent, teams will usually rest players so that they don’t suffer a deal-breaking injury before the trade is finalized, so if Carmelo suddenly misses a start, we know something is likely to happen soon.
