by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Melo‘s preferred destination remains the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, but should the New Jersey Nets find enough suitable talent to surround him with, Anthony may be willing to sign a contract extension there as part of a trade.
According to Yahoo!, Denver and New Jersey are discussing a complex, multi-team trade that would land Carmelo Anthony in a Nets uniform:
Anthony is inclined to accept a trade and contract extension with New Jersey over his preferred choice of New York only if the Nets are able to bring back a package of significant talent with him, league sources involved in the talks said on Monday. So far, there are trade scenarios that include a combination of Anthony’s Denver teammates – including forward Al Harrington – and other league players coming to the Nets.
“The way this is structured now, the Nets will significantly upgrade their team,” said one NBA executive involved in the talks. Said a Western Conference executive whose team has pursued Anthony: “’Melo wants something similar to the Orlando deal, where he won’t have to go into New Jersey – or anywhere he’s going – without some help right away.”
The report claims that Brook Lopez is the only Nets player that’s been deemed untouchable.
With the trade deadline looming ahead, and a possible lockout next summer (which threatens to significantly cut into player salaries), Anthony has little choice but to be willing to sign a long-term deal with the team that he lands on, even if it isn’t his preferred destination.
There’s also some light chatter about some title contenders willing to trade for Anthony this season without the guarantee of a contract extension.
