Tag: New Jersey Nets (Page 5 of 23)

      Bill Simmons argues that Carmelo should join the Clippers

      January 13, 2011 /

      Keep in mind that Simmons, a Clippers season ticket holder, made a similar case last year that LeBron should come to L.A. and look how that turned out.

      Anyway, here’s his case:

      Griffin is the most meaningful in-the-air player since Shawn Kemp. Throw in his competitive streak and he did the impossible — he made Baron Davis care about basketball again. As my friend Tollin said last week, “It’s amazing; it’s like Baron has a purpose again.” He’s Blake’s dunk muse. Now the Clips have the foundation of something special: Griffin, Davis, Eric Gordon (a future All-Star) and enough left to make a legitimate offer for Denver: lottery pick Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, expiring contracts and the rights to Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 pick (nearly as valuable a trade chip as Favors) for Carmelo and Al Harrington’s horrendous contract that’s the Carmelo Trade Tax. Mrs. Anthony could live in Hollywood and make her next unwatchable reality show. And her husband could play with Griffin, Gordon, Davis, Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan … a situation that’s between five and 20 times more appealing than New Jersey. Even when you include Donald Sterling.

      From a basketball/quality of living standpoint, you couldn’t do much better than the situation with the Clippers. Anthony-Griffin-Gordon would make an excellent trio to build around and I’ll agree that the building blocks the Clippers could offer (Aminu, Kaman and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 pick) are almost as good as what the Nets can offer.

      But there’s one thing that stands in the way: Donald Sterling. The Nets’ owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, a.k.a. the Russian Mark Cuban, is infinitely more impressive and Simmons notes that LeBron thought that the Nets meeting was right up there with the Heat’s last summer.

      It will be nice for Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton land in New Jersey with Melo, but only for a year or two, as both players are past their respective primes. It’s really about Brook Lopez and Mikhail Prokhorov versus Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and Donald Sterling.

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      Chris Paul responsible for Nuggets’ unwillingness to trade Carmelo to the Knicks?

      January 13, 2011 /

      The Nuggets’ stance towards the Knicks has been puzzling. They claim that New York doesn’t have the assets they want in exchange for Carmelo Anthony, but a quick look at the roster reveals a few good pieces: Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph and Toney Douglas, just to name a few. Certainly the Knicks could work with a third team to bring another player into the mix if Denver offered up a list of players/assets that it wanted. But when GM Donnie Walsh has asked for this, the Nuggets have been non-responsive.

      There was a little nugget (no pun intended) from Ric Bucher in ESPN’s Daily Dime which might explain why the Nuggets don’t want to trade Carmelo to the Knicks:

      Stan Kroenke, the Nuggets’ former owner who ceded control to son Josh, is vehemently against dealing with the Knicks after being embarrassed at Anthony’s wedding in Manhattan by talk of his star becoming a Knick…

      Bucher is presumably talking about Chris Paul’s wedding toast, where he allegedly said, “We’ll form our own Big 3,” referring to the possibility that Paul, Anthony and Amare Stoudemire could team up in New York.

      Apparently, that didn’t sit well with the former Nugget owner and that perceived slight has affected these trade negotiations. Bucher goes on to say that the Knicks “can’t offer the Nuggets anywhere close to the same package of building blocks” as the Nets can. Still, it’s interesting that Kroenke still holds a grudge against the Knicks about comments made at a wedding by a player who isn’t even on the Knick roster.

      Not yet, anyway.

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      Carmelo not interested in signing with the Nets?

      January 12, 2011 /
      Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony warms up at the Pepsi Center in Denver on November 16, 2010. UPI/Gary C. Caskey

      Per Chris Broussard of ESPN…

      According to several league sources, Anthony has not told anyone, not even his representatives, that he will sign a contract extension with the Nets.

      One source who has spoken with Anthony since trade talks between Denver, New Jersey and Detroit became public last weekend said the Nuggets forward has never even hinted at signing with New Jersey.

      “He has not agreed to go to New Jersey,” said the source, who speaks regularly with Anthony. “I have never heard him, in all the times we’ve talked, say he’s willing to go to New Jersey. Not once. Personally, I would be stunned if he went there and signed an extension.”

      Whaa?

      This wouldn’t be a surprise if it were only the Nets and Nuggets talking, but all along Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, has reportedly been the catalyst behind this trade talk between the two teams. Why would he work so hard to put together a trade if Carmelo isn’t interested in re-upping with the Nets in the first place?

      The natural assumption is that Rose is pushing for a deal with New Jersey because Anthony is amenable to it. But sources say that’s not the case.

      “He [Rose] may want him to go there,” one source said. “But Melo doesn’t want to be in Jersey. He wants to play in New York.”

      I don’t buy it. If Rose and Anthony are on the same page, and one would think they are, then he has to be amenable to playing for the Nets. If Carmelo is so determined to play for the Knicks, then he should just play out the year in Denver and sign with the Knicks during the summer.

      Of course, he’s trying to get his extension and a trade to the Knicks, so if that’s the case, he should tell the Nuggets that the Knicks are the only team that he’ll re-sign with, and that would put the pressure on Denver to get the best deal they can from Knicks GM Donnie Walsh. That would put him in the role of spoiled superstar, which is something he has been trying to avoid by being so tight-lipped about his future.

      But Leon Rose has to know what Carmelo is willing (and not willing) to do, right?

      Right?

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      Nuggets to Nets: Shut up or we’ll trade Melo to the Knicks

      January 11, 2011 /

      Per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports…

      Before resuming trade talks for Carmelo Anthony on Monday, the Denver Nuggets delivered a stern warning to the New Jersey Nets: Unless the public nature of these trade discussions becomes private, be warned that we will send Anthony to the New York Knicks.

      Nothing else the Nuggets could’ve said would send such chills of unease through the Nets, and that’s why Denver made the threat, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

      Would the Nuggets do such a thing out of spite? Would they take a lesser package out of vengeance? No one could be sure, but it sure delivered one more element of drama and intrigue to these trade talks.

      This is an interesting turn of events. Apparently, the Nuggets don’t like feeling the pressure to get this deal done and are intent on taking their sweet time getting the best deal they can. However, to threaten to take a lesser deal (from the Knicks) out of spite is pretty childish, and a slap in the face of the Nugget fan base, which is already having to watch its team crumble before its very eyes.

      I don’t like these long, drawn-out trade negotiations, but the Nuggets have to do what the Nuggets have to do, and let’s not forget that Denver’s new GM, Masai Ujiri, isn’t a salty vet. This is likely the biggest move of his career, so he’s going to be careful.

      Another interesting note from the Yahoo piece:

      The Knicks remain Anthony’s preferred destination, but Ujiri has told Knicks president Donnie Walsh that his team doesn’t have the assets Denver wants. When Walsh has asked Ujiri to provide him with a list of the Nuggets’ desires, whether it be draft picks or specific players from other teams, sources said Ujiri has been unresponsive.

      You’d think that if Ujiri were really trying to get the best possible deal that he’d give a list of assets he’d like to Walsh and see if the Knicks GM could work his magic.

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      Nets appear to be closing in on Carmelo

      January 10, 2011 /
      Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony (L) moves against the New York Knicks guard/forward Landry Fields during the first quarter at the Pepsi Center in Denver on November 16, 2010. UPI/Gary C. Caskey

      Per ESPN…

      As of late Sunday night, sources said, New Jersey was poised to receive [Carmelo] Anthony, [Chauncey] Billups and [Rip] Hamilton, with Denver landing two future first-round picks and six players. The Nuggets’ haul would feature Nets rookie Derrick Favors, former All-Star guard Devin Harris and Nets sharpshooter Anthony Morrow. In addition, the Nuggets would bring in the New Jersey threesome of Quinton Ross, Ben Uzoh and Stephen Graham included for salary-cap purposes.

      Detroit, meanwhile, was to receive Nets big man Johan Petro and the expiring contract of Nets forward Troy Murphy, with the Pistons motivated to join in by the $17-plus million in long-term savings they’d earn by shedding Hamilton’s contract.

      Denver threw a wrench into the works by choosing to play Anthony and Billups in Sunday night’s game against New Orleans. Generally, if a player is about to be traded, the team sits him down until the deal is consummated to avoid a deal-killing injury. The Nuggets’ move indicates that the trade is not as close to the finish line as some would like to believe.

      If this deal does go through, it looks fairly equitable from all sides. The Nets get their man, and they also upgrade (in the short term) at point guard. Billups is getting on in years so one wonders if the inclusion of Harris was at the Nuggets’ request. Denver would get a young prospect at power forward (Favors) and a proven guard (Harris) whom they can plug in at the point or move to another team for another piece to the rebuilding puzzle. I suspect that Ty Lawson is the future at point guard in Denver, and Harris could potentially bring in more talent later. After what happened to the Raptors and Cavs this summer, getting Favors and Harris for Anthony and Billups isn’t a bad haul. I’m sure there will be a first round draft pick or two included as well.

      If anyone is wondering why Carmelo has apparently become agreeable to signing an extension with the Nets, it’s probably due to the Knicks’ inability to offer the Nuggets something equitable. If Melo finishes the season as a Nugget, the uncertainty of the next collective bargaining agreement could mean that Anthony would leave a lot of money on the table by passing on the Nuggets’ extension offer. In other words, he’d like to lock up his contract now, and since the Nets and Nuggets have worked out a deal in principle, Carmelo can start counting his money. Certainly the prospect of continuing his career with Billups in New Jersey/Brooklyn also has to help.

      If this deal does go through as described, the Nets could have a starting lineup of Billups, Hamilton, Anthony, Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez. That might be enough to turn the Nets into a playoff team despite the 10-27 start. After all, they’re only five games out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.

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