Carmelo to rethink extension with Nuggets
Denver Nuggets point forward Carmelo Anthony (15) waits for game action to resume during the first half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. (Dec. 12, 2010) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
As Knicks president Donnie Walsh remains outwardly stoic, Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets are getting anxious as the calendar creeps closer to the Feb. 24 trade deadline, a person with knowledge of the situation said. Anthony Wednesday provided another twist to this ongoing drama when he told reporters in Denver that he would "take a real hard look" at signing a three-year, $65-million contract extension with the Nuggets if he is not traded by the deadline.
And the Denver Post Wednesday cited sources saying "there is a better-than-average chance" Anthony is not traded by the deadline.
Considering the widely held belief that Anthony's primary goal is to get traded to the Knicks with that extension, is all of this merely posturing?
"I have no idea about Denver or that kind of stuff," Walsh said. "I know there's 10 [rumors] a day that are new and the next day it's 10 different things."
An NBA source said the Nuggets know their options are few - though they are trying to bring in other suitors to compete with the Knicks - and that Walsh "is not going to fall for" negotiating ploys. That doesn't mean, however, that Walsh won't consider adjusting a trade offer to make it more appealing to the Nuggets.
"You might, within a trade, make a move to make sure that doesn't happen, if you can do it," Walsh said, speaking in general about trades he's done in the past. "That's not public . . . but yeah I think I probably have done that."
The Knicks reportedly have the parameters of a three-team deal for Anthony that would send Eddy Curry and Anthony Randolph to the Timberwolves, who would send a first-round pick and Corey Brewer to the Nuggets, along with Knicks forward Wilson Chandler.
This reported package does not bring back much for the Nuggets to sell to their fan base, but with Minnesota absorbing Curry's expiring contract, it nets Denver almost $10 million in cash.
Anthony also said while he would consider signing with Denver, he also would want to consider the Nuggets front office's plans for the team.
"I'm hearing things about what direction they want to go in," he said. "They want to get younger and things like that. Though I'm 26, this is my eighth season. I'm not getting younger as far as the years go."
The Dolan family owns
controlling interests in the Knicks, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.
