Looking back a few months ago, I was shaking at the very thought of the New Jersey Nets acquiring Carmelo Anthony, seeing as I am a die-hard Knicks fan who wanted either Carmelo or Chris Paul to be traded to the Knicks.
When the deal for Carmelo to the Nets fell through, it was pretty obvious they realized Anthony would not accept a contract extension with the Nets and would rather go to the free agent market, knowing how many suitors were lining up for Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James this past summer. Ever since then I have been very skeptical of the Knicks pursuing a trade for Carmelo Anthony for multiple reasons. I figured, if the Knicks can wait out a season (which I assumed would be unsuccessful as I felt not enough pieces were in place to compete) and sign him as a free agent, they would be huge 'winners' for not trading whatever talent was left to acquire him before or during the 2010-2011 season.
Clearly Anthony has no interest in staying with the Denver Nuggets, and with a new rumor today following the Knicks' close 129-125 victory over the Nuggets at Madison Square Garden, I've quickly turned my head around and become a huge believer that the Knicks should make a move on Carmelo immediately. That new rumor is that Carmelo will only sign an extension with a team if that team he is traded to is... the New York Knicks. The source is apparently close to forward Carmelo Anthony and has been a part of numerous private discussions involving Anthony and the trade rumors, and even told ESPN.com that Carmelo has already informed the Nuggets he will only accept the contract extension if he is traded to the New York Knicks.
The issue now lies on two sides: The Knicks and the Nuggets. Do the Knicks pursue Carmelo now, knowing their team is hot and they have shown the potential to compete for the first time in at least eight years? And do the Nuggets try to trade him, hold on to him through the season hoping to make it to the playoffs again, or trade him to another team for less talent? The issue for the Nuggets is that a team will not give up substantial talent in order to have Carmelo Anthony on their roster for half a season, only to walk onto the Free Agent Market after the season ends. And if the Nuggets keep Anthony, they run the risk of losing their top player and getting essentially nothing in return.
It actually makes me wonder if the Nuggets will push the Knicks into entering trade discussions to make a deal happen, rather than the Knicks try to convince the Nuggets to make a trade. Denver should at least get something in return.
Since arriving at MSG on Friday night, Carmelo was greeted by fans yelling out from cars and apartment windows "Melo we need you in New York", and received a standing ovation from the crowd in MSG today when his name was announced just prior to the game.
The other issue for the Knicks however is they may feel it is safer to not trade away talent, and sign Carmelo Anthony in the off-season, signing him to a similar salary he is making in 2010-2011 ($17.14M), but probably closer to $20M. Another issue is running the risk that for some odd reason, he doesn't sign with the Knicks. A 3rd issue, and this is my favorite, is capitalizing on how much Knicks fans want him in 'The Garden', while at the peak of their game, and essentially telling the fans "Hey, we're on an 8-game win streak and we just acquired a huge superstar."
I feel the cards are in the Knicks' hands, as they can practically tell the Nuggets "This is what we have, but this is all we're offering -- we know nobody else will trade for him because he won't sign an extension with them, and at least you can get something in return by sending him to New York -- but heck, you got 0 leverage, so take it or burn."
The Knicks have had previous trade discussions with the Nuggets including players such as Eddy Curry's expiring contract (just to get rid of him), Danilo Gallinari, numerous other pieces and a 1st Round Pick the Knicks feel they could acquire through a 3rd team. There is also a good chance that 3rd team would receive a player like Wilson Chandler and/or Anthony Randolph. And since his emergence as a strong Shooting Guard for the Knicks, Landry Fields has popped up. However, if Fields can hang on to New York, it will erase their need to pursue Chris Paul in the future, having an established and cheap guard to dish the ball to Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony
I think this whole rumor proves that one day Carmelo Anthony will be a New York Knickerbocker -- the real question we should all ponder is when will he be a Knickerbocker?
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