New York Knicks Can Build Champion Without Trading For Carmelo Anthony

As reported here, the New York Knicks recently offered a package for Denver Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony that included Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler and a future first-round draft pick.

However, the Nuggets front office declined the proposal, leaving Knicks president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh no other option but to sweeten the deal if Anthony is to don a Knicks jersey this season.

The most obvious question is why the Knicks, or any other NBA team for that matter, would aggressively pursue a trade for the three-time All-Star, who has made it abundantly clear he wants to play in New York when he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

"That's like the ultimate dream at the end of the day," Anthony, a Brooklyn native, said in an interview with ESPN. "Who wouldn't want to go back home to play?”

So the Knicks’ willingness to part with a promising rookie in Fields, the top rebounding guard in the league, and a budding star in Chandler (16.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) to acquire ‘Melo just doesn’t add up.

Wouldn’t it make more sense for the Knicks to sign Anthony as a free agent, to play with Fields and Chandler, as well as Raymond Felton (17.5 ppg, 8.7 apg), Danilo Gallinari (15.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Amar’e Stoudemire (26.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg)?

The NBA’s precarious labor situation could result in Anthony leaving a significant amount of money on the table in the aforementioned scenario. Nevertheless, playing in the league’s largest media market, Anthony, who’s averaging 23.5 points and eight rebounds per game this season, would more than make up for the difference in endorsements.

If Anthony is willing to sacrifice up-front money for the greater good of his future team, the Knicks could bring another player into the fold to instantly transform New York into championship contenders next season.

With the addition of Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler (9.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.25 blkpg), an unrestricted free agent this summer, New York would have the rebounding and shot-blocking presence that would allow Stoudemire to play a natural power forward.

That said, head coach Mike D’Antoni could potentially roll out a starting rotation comprised of Felton (PG), Fields (SG), Anthony (SF), Stoudemire (PF) and Tyson Chandler (C), with capable reserves in Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Shawne Williams and Ronny Turiaf.

Like the Jackson 5 classic tune declared, it’s as easy as 1-2-3, but the Knicks appear insistent on turning this situation into a complicated algebraic equation.

To reiterate, New York is Anthony’s preferred playing destination, and he’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Therefore, since the Knicks have the high ground, why are they in a rush to mortgage their future to bring a superstar into town this season that they can sign in July while keeping the current roster intact?

Mikhail Prokhorov got hip to the game when he broke off negotiations for a blockbuster deal that would have sent ‘Melo to the New Jersey Nets.

When will Donnie Walsh finally wise up and follow suit?

The Nuggets may act like they’re holding all the cards in the Car-Melodrama, but if the Knicks call Denver’s bluff the whole pot will come to the Big Apple, and so will the franchise’s first championship in nearly 40 years.

Do the math.

Click here to read the original article at SportsHaze.com.

Denver Nuggets Reject Knicks' Offer for Carmelo Anthony

When billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov slammed the door on a blockbuster deal that would have sent Carmelo Anthony to the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks emerged as the favorites to land the Denver Nuggets superstar small forward.

And Knicks president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh didn’t waste any time in pressing their advantage, as Anthony has publicly expressed that New York is his preferred playing destination.

According to ESPN 1050 Radio, the Knicks offered Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler and a first-round draft pick to the Nuggets for Anthony, who’s averaging 23.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season.

The first-round draft pick the Knicks included in the proposed trade has yet to be acquired, but a rumored deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves for power forward Anthony Randolph is likely to yield the pick New York placed on the bargaining table.

Nevertheless, the Knicks will have to go back to the drawing board, because Denver’s front office rejected the latest offer for their highly sought-after three-time All-Star.

This begs the question of exactly what combination of players and draft picks it will take for New York to consummate a trade with Denver.

Fields, a second-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, is averaging 10.1 points per game, shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range and leads all guards in rebounding (7.4), opening many eyes around the NBA to his high basketball IQ and willingness to put the team ahead of individual accomplishments.

In his fourth year in the NBA, Chandler is on the cusp of stardom, averaging career highs in points (17.4), rebounds (6.3), blocks (1.40) and three-point shooting percentage (35.3 percent).

As a result, Chandler’s tremendous promise will be a valuable selling point for Donnie Walsh in future negotiations with the Nuggets.

So although the Knicks failed to entice the Nuggets in this round of negotiations, it appears only a matter of time before the Car-Melodrama finally ends and Anthony is playing in front of a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden, right alongside five-time All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire.

Click here to read the original article at SportsHaze.com.

Ship Him Or Shut Up Time For The Denver Nuggets & Carmelo Anthony

To send or not to send?

The seesawing of where or when superstar forward Carmelo Anthony will be traded continues to dominate headlines. The question sprouted before the start of the season when he told the Denver Nuggets management that he wants out of their franchise and would not sign the three-year extension they offered him. His desire is to be sent to an East Coast team, an area he grew up in, with the preference to play at Madison Square Garden with the New York Knicks.

It is now nearly the middle of January, almost halfway through the NBA season, and he is still playing in the powder-blue Nuggets jersey.

The biggest issue with the prolonging of trading Anthony is the obviousness that he does not want to be there. The Nuggets management has done whatever it could to keep him and he still is reluctant to remain with the team past this season. Everyone in the league knows he’s on the market and is aware that his current team is vulnerable.

They also understand that he is a free agent after this season and that parting with valuable pieces for a player who has no desire to return to Denver doesn’t make sense to other teams. Why would anyone want to give up a promising young talent or draft picks when they can just wait another half a year to sign him?

The problem is obvious and growing more massive with each calendar month that’s turned that Denver has now put themselves in a corner. Rather than negotiating early on, the team felt they could put him on hold in hopes that maybe the Nuggets would play well and remind him that they are still a contender. They also assumed that they had an enormous amount of time and could work out a deal that would give them equal value for one of the best players in the world.

Those beliefs have now backfired as they are now in a precarious situation with the trade deadline a little over a month away and no current progress. A possible three-team, fifteen player trade is mulling around in the rumors column of sports websites, but that is quickly losing steam and it appears that Denver is caught in a last chance effort to get some value for their franchise player.

So here’s some advice for the Nuggets management: just get it over with.

The proposals, threats, assumptions, and hope that Denver has been clinging to produced no movement to persuade Anthony to stay or create a swap with another team of adequate value for him. Worst of all, they are forcing everyone to listen to it as if they finally found a conclusion to the situation.

It’s like listening to a broken record that continues to skip at the same point over and over; it can be tolerated at first, but if it continues, it begins to become annoying. So much so that you stop then you just throw it against the wall and stomp on it until you hear ultimate silence.

If the news is that he is finally sent to another team, then it should be reported; but if it’s just another possible idea or scenario, the Nuggets should just keep it to themselves.

The other end of this ongoing annoyance is who is to blame for this situation?

Do you fault Anthony for imposing his will on wanting to leave, as well as the specifics with destination and his reluctance to sign an extension depending on who gets him?

To an extent, yes he does. He should deal with the fact that sometimes you don’t have a choice in where you end up (just ask Kevin Love or Tyreke Evans). Yet, franchise stars are given the red carpet treatment that they can dictate where they play or the direction of the team. It’s been that way with all of the superstars in the NBA (like Kobe Bryant after Shaquille O’Neal left or Lebron James and the Cleveland fiasco).

No, responsibility of this exasperating, irritating mess falls squarely on the Denver Nuggets.

It’s amazing how far the team has fallen since participating in the 2009 Western Conference finals and losing the first round of the 2010 playoffs. It’s even more amazing how they have handled this situation terribly. Rather than just making the move early on, they prolonged pushing a trade in hopes of getting a better deal on their end or hoping to keep Anthony. Now with time running out, desperation is growing stronger to get rid of their star who’s a free agent after the season.

So, why in the world would a team want to overpay when they know the Nuggets have no leverage?

It is only a matter of time until the Nuggets finally pull the trigger on a Anthony trade. Yet, the drama of where he might go and the transactions being proposed is the bigger issue in all of this. What started as a light fog of likelihood has manifested into a downpour of ridiculousness with no forecast of conclusion in sight.

For the sake of the nausea this lengthy transaction has made, let’s just hope that the weather will break sooner than later.

New York Knicks Placed in Middle of Carmelo Anthony Trade Spat

After reports surfaced that the Denver Nuggets, the Detroit Pistons, and the New Jersey Jets were on the verge of consummating a 13-player deal that would have sent Nuggets small forward Carmelo Anthony, point guard Chauncey Billups and Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton to New Jersey, a new twist developed in the ongoing Car-Melodrama.

According to Yahoo.com, the Nuggets organization delivered a warning to the Nets by threatening to trade Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks if the trade discussions remain subject to public consumption.

The proposed trade would send Anthony, Hamilton, Billups, Nuggets guard Anthony Carter and forward Shelden Williams to the Nets.

In turn, the Nuggets would receive two first-round draft picks from the Nets, All-Star point guard Devin Harris, rookie power forward Derrick Favors, shooting guard Anthony Morrow, guard Ben Uzoh, and small forwards Stephen Graham and Quinton Ross.

Meanwhile, the Pistons would add Nets power forward Troy Murphy and center Johan Petro to their roster.

Did the Nuggets really expect the details of this blockbuster trade to be kept quiet?

If this is indeed the case, not only were their expectations unrealistic, but their threat to trade Anthony to the Knicks is blatantly immature, sophomoric and a bluff the Nets should call to remind Denver of an extremely harsh reality.

In no uncertain terms, Anthony, a three-time All-Star, has made it abundantly clear he would prefer to take his talents to New York.

Therefore, the Knicks, or any other NBA team for that matter, are under no obligation to lend the Nuggets a helping hand by compensating them for the loss for their franchise player.

And if the Nuggets did make an overture to New York in an attempt to make good on their threat, it would be prudent of Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh to immediately take Landry Fields, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler off the table.

Within the next two seasons, Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford, Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler, Denver Nuggets center Nene Hilario, Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman, Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love, New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez, New Orleans Hornets power forward David West, Orlando Magic shooting guard Jason Richardson, power forward Brandon Bass, and center Dwight Howard are on track to become free agents.

So although Carmelo Anthony remains the Knicks’ primary target, they’re no longer the desperate franchise they once were before the signings of Raymond Felton and Amar’e Stoudemire.

This much is also clear, the Knicks, one of the NBA’s marquee franchises, aren’t a bargaining chip for the Denver Nuggets.

Click here to read the original article at SportsHaze.com.