Hahn: Could Nuggets 'franchise' Melo?

The rumors about Carmelo Anthony’s future after the Feb. 24 trade deadline will shift into high gear — no, really, there actually can be another level to the Melopalooza — during the weekend of the Feb. 20 All-Star Game in Los Angeles. At the same time, the Denver Nuggets hope to have a clearer understanding of what is to come in the next collective bargaining agreement when the league’s Board of Governors meet and use that knowledge in their strategy to keep Anthony rather than trade him.

The Nuggets are extremely interested in one new element that is being considered in the next CBA: the NFL-style franchise tag. While this only has been introduced as a concept without any real details, the Nuggets see it as an opportunity to put a franchise tag on Anthony, which would give them the exclusive right to keep him.

The franchise tag concept, however, may never make it to the final proposal mainly because most of the big-market teams — such as the Knicks — would oppose this idea because it would be a deterrent to adding star players via free agency (see: Carmelo). And the players, especially the stars who will demand more flexibility in free agency in exchange for a stricter salary-cap system, will be against it, as well.

The owners are scheduled to meet at All-Star Weekend but a CBA sit down with the players union has yet to be arranged. The Nuggets will then have four days to decide what they want to do with Anthony: trade him so they get value in return, or hold on to him and risk losing him for nothing as a free agent.

LEAGUE COULDN'T PROVE CHANDLER ALLEGATION

The NBA slapped the Knicks with a $200,000 fine for scout Rodney Heard’s involvement in illegal predraft workouts in 2007 and 2010, but the team avoided what could have been a more serious offense — and punishment — if the league’s investigation was able to prove any alleged wrongdoing in how Wilson Chandler was drafted in ’07.

A report in October by Yahoo! Sports, which led to the investigation into Heard, alleged that Chandler trained with Heard in Atlanta in the weeks leading up to the draft that year. The report said that Chandler's former agent, Chris Luchey, canceled workouts with several teams, such as the Bulls, Trail Blazers and Spurs, because Chandler had an ankle injury. The Knicks selected Chandler with the 23rd pick, much earlier than expected.

SEE PHOTOSTop 10 Knicks ever

But Chandler emerged as one of the best players to come out of that draft, with a 14.1 points per game career average, the third highest among ’07 draftees behind only Kevin Durant (25.9) and Jeff Green (14.2).

Chandler has since denied the story and the league, which hired an outside firm to conduct the investigation, could not find enough evidence to prove Chandler was involved in any illegal contact with the Knicks.

The Dolan family owns controlling interests in the Knicks, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.

WILLIAMS SHOOTING FOR SHOOTOUT

Shawne Williams went into the weekend leading the NBA in three-point field-goal percentage with a blistering 50.62 percent from beyond the arc. That is ninth all-time in NBA history.

But is that enough to earn him an invite to All-Star Weekend to compete in the Three-Point Shootout?

Spurs forward Matt Bonner is right on Williams' heels with 50.4 percent shooting from downtown. Ray Allen (45.8 percent) and Chris Paul (45.3 percent) are ranked third and fourth in the league and they'll already be in L.A. as All-Stars. Paul Pierce, another All-Star, gets an automatic bid because he won the contest last year.

AROUND THE NBA

For once it seems the fans pretty much got the all-star voting right for the starters — other than the ballot-stuffing in the Asian market that resulted in injured Yao Ming starting at center for the West — while the coaches are being called to question for choices made for the reserves.

The greatest debate involves Kevin Love, who was left off the original West roster despite his gaudy numbers and impressive individual performance this season, with 34 consecutive double-doubles and leading the NBA with an average of 15.5 rebounds per game.

Love was troubled by the snub and pointed to his team's 11-37 record. “We know why I didn't make it . . . I know winning plays a big factor,’’ Love told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “I didn’t want to be too upset. I’m not too bitter about it.’’

On Friday, commissioner David Stern added Love added to the All-Star roster as Yao’s injury replacement. While many around the NBA were outraged by Love's absence from the original All-Star roster at least one isn’t happy to see rookie Blake Griffin make the team. “He ain’t made nobody better,’’ Portland’s Andre Miller told the Oregonian. “It’s basically his rookie year, as an All-Star? LeBron James didn’t make an All-Star team as a rookie.’’ Miller has two reasons to beef: 1. his teammate and another deserving candidate, LaMarcus Aldridge, was not selected. 2. Miller was suspended one game in December for ramming Griffin into the baseline in retaliation to shoves by Griffin . . . The Lakers' recent malaise is absolutely attributable to their exhausting run of three consecutive seasons that have culminated with trips to the NBA Finals. Consider that no team has made it to four straight Finals in almost a quarter-century. The last team to do it was the 1984-87 Celtics.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

@landryfields: In the car with Timofey Mozgov headed back home. #nowplaying..Russian Rap. The two words I've understood so far: "Ok" and "Moscow"..