Another day of Carmelo in limbo
Denver Nuggets small forward Carmelo Anthony looks at a referee during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat. (Jan. 13, 2011) Credit: AP
Two important principals in making Carmelo Anthony's "ultimate dream'' of playing for the Knicks come true - Donnie Walsh and Leon Rose - were at the Garden on Friday night. Neither would talk about Anthony's situation, but the idea isn't for them to talk to the media about it. The trick is for them to get into a meaningful conversation with Nuggets executives Josh Kroenke and Masai Ujiri.
Though the Nets remain the leading candidate to land Anthony before the Feb. 24 trade deadline, a person with knowledge of the situation told Newsday that the priority for Rose, Anthony's lead representative from the Creative Artists Agency, is to work out a trade to get him to the Knicks with a contract extension.
But the Nets have made much more progress in trade talks with Denver, with the most recent scenario involving a three-team deal that includes the Pistons. The Nets believe they are on the verge of completing a deal, which almost certainly would be contingent upon Anthony's signing a three-year, $65-million extension.
If that deal is as close as reports have suggested, however, why hasn't Anthony signed off on an extension? The suggestion from people involved in the situation is that he's trying to give the Knicks as much time as possible to make something happen with Denver before he has to make a decision on the Nets. Meanwhile, the Nets hope to get an audience with him so they can sell him on their future in Brooklyn, where Anthony was born.
In an interview Friday with ESPN, Anthony called coming home to play in New York "the ultimate dream'' but would not commit any more than that.
"It's tough for me to sit here and say, 'Oh, I want to play in New York. Oh, I want to play in New Jersey. Oh, I want to stay here [in Denver],'' he said.
No one expects him to say where he wants to play - keep in mind, the NBA fines players $25,000 for making public trade demands - so the fact that he stayed on the fence is understandable. But let's eliminate the Nuggets as an option because if he wanted to stay there, he would have signed the extension the Nuggets have had on the table since June.
Let's also acknowledge he does have some control over his destination. He can force a trade by telling the Nuggets he'll sign an extension only with the Knicks. But he has been reluctant to do so.
Why? Call it the LeBron Effect.Images of Cavaliers fans burning James' jersey after The Decision in July resonated with many NBA stars. Anthony's fear throughout this situation has been how he'll be perceived when it's over. It took him a long time to get to the point that his game and his personality were respected around the league, and he knows that whatever he decides to do, at least two markets will be upset.
"Any decision I make is the biggest decision of my life,'' he said. "It'll carry on and it'll follow me for the rest of my life . . . It will define my legacy.'' It also will change the course for the team he chooses. But either way, New York appears to be on the verge of adding another superstar.
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