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?
The Knicks missed out on LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh this summer, but they did land Amare Stoudemire, and also acquired Raymond Felton to run the point. David Lee is gone, but New York did get a good young player in Anthony Randolph to take his place. In other words, this Knicks team is going to look a lot different than last year’s club, and probably for the better. Newcomers Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azubuike, Roger Mason, (promising) Russian center Timofey Mozgov along with Wilson Chandler and Toney Douglas will round out Mike D’Antoni’s rotation. Cap-wise, the Knicks are still in good shape. Eddy Curry’s $11 M expiring deal can be used as trade bait or the franchise can just let it come off the books, creating around $18 million in cap space next summer, which they could use to sign Carmelo Anthony if he hits free agency. The only big contract on the payroll is Stoudemire’s deal, and the Knicks really need him to stay healthy in order to get their money’s worth. This looks like a franchise on the rise, but they need to land one more star to threaten the upper echelon of the East.