Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 9:07 am  |  94 responses

Reports: Melo, Nuggets parting ways?

by Lang Whitaker | @langwhitaker

After a report over the weekend that Carmelo Anthony was considering signing a contract extension with the Denver Nuggets, Carmelo’s long-term future as a Denver Nugget seems more and more unclear.

Yesterday, ESPN’s Ric Bucher reported that Melo leaving Denver is a matter of sooner rather than later. Writes Bucher:

All signs continue to point toward the eventual divorce between Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets.

League sources say it is now a matter of when, not if, Anthony and the Nuggets will go their separate ways.

Anthony is weighing whether to sign a three-year, $65 million extension offered by the Nuggets. His dilemma, league sources say, is what affords him the best chance of continuing his career elsewhere. Anthony could sign with Denver and convince the team to then trade him. His other option would be to not sign the extension, thereby forcing the team to move him rather than risk losing him next summer as a free agent.

During his annual basketball camp in Colorado on Saturday, Anthony said he had no timetable on when he’ll decide whether to sign the extension.

In either case, “he’s going to make it real clear that he’s not coming back,” said one league source.

Meanwhile, back in Denver, the Denver Post notes that the Nuggets seem resigned to a post-Melo fate…

While deciding where he wants to spend the rest of his basketball life, Carmelo Anthony will do what’s right by his family.

But believe this: Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke will do what is best for his hefty investment in an NBA franchise, even if that means trading Melo.

There is no way Denver can afford to lose the face of its franchise for nothing as a free agent.

The Nuggets are now considering a strategy to part ways with their 26-year-old star forward, according to a league source.

As for Anthony himself, over on Twitter he cryptically weighed in last night:

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  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    @ Cub- No, I didnt do those things while there.. @ Cub & Fat Lever, begining of my post said- correct me if im wrong, my 1 visit to Denver was kinda lame, but if you guys live or have been there a few times, and enjoy it, well then I was wrong, and you corrected me… Not hating on a city I haven’t seen much of… No disrespect..

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    ^ but I bet Melo likes the “bright lights, big city”.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp
  • Me

    All you N.Y people, dont get your hopes up, or you’ll end up hating him like LeBron

  • http://aspov.blogspot.com Cheryl

    Send him to Nola or Memphis or Golden State. whatever ‘Melo decides, he needs to utilize his leverage now, because the NBA money landscape will probably change. Perhaps that’s what he and Chris have been acting a little jumpy about.

  • http://www.stonesthrow.com Michael NZ

    Co-sign Fat Lever @ 11:01… can we please be done with this TMZ and Perez Hilton version of the NBA.

  • robz

    go 2 bulls MELO !

  • The Philosopher

    Allenp @4:11p.m.
    Good sh1t.

  • T-Money

    Allen: I don’t think we’ll be able to agree on this but IMO it would have been incredibly stupid for Gilbert – with the information he had then – to trade Bron regardless of what he could have gotten in return. 1- The Cavs felt they had a good shot and had no serious intel saying that he was going to bolt for sure before this year’s trading deadline. The real rumors only started floating in June. 2- Kobe, Dwight, Wade, KD would not have been in play so you’re not getting close to equal value. If you can’t get any of them for Bron, just take the cap space. 3- Teams don’t trade good players for rentals (guys that are about to be free agents).

  • http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

    They should get rid of him now, he is going to go through hell in Denver, the fans will boo him all year. His eyes are on NY, so let him go now.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

    This just in, Melo’s preferred destinations are Orlando and New York.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    T-Money
    $12 million in cap space isn’t that wonderful. Then the league is changing its salary structure and there is no way the Cavs want to be that close to the salary cap without Lebron selling out the Q.
    I’m not saying the Cavs should have traded Lebron. I understand why they didn’t.
    But, given all the stories that now say this whole Miami thing was a done deal a while ago maybe Cleveland should have thought harder about a trade.(Although these same writers once wrote that nobody had any idea what Lebron was going to do so take their comments for what they’re worth.)
    And I don’t think trading your superstar is the worst possible move. You don’t have to get a player of equal value in return, you have to get something approaching equal value in return.
    Maybe not one player, but a package of talent, and draft picks is very nice. It’s much better than getting nothing, which was definitely in play.
    They should have made the same statement that Denver is making, and then let teams woo them with their best offer. Instead of assumign that Lebron would re-sign with them particularly if they had a decent team around him. They should have considered the worst possible scenario, and then took some action to deal with that scenario. They didn’t.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Oh yeah.
    Teams don’t trade good players for MOST rentals.
    We’re talking about the chance to get Lebron.
    95 percent of the teams would bend over backwards to make that deal.
    And, they would convince themselves that they could re-sign him, just like Cleveland did, and just like New York, New Jersey and Chicago did.
    Everybody was convinced they could influence him as a free agent, I’m sure they would be even more convinced they could resign him if they could offer more money than any one else.
    Just use my Clippers example.
    The Clippers, well if htey were a regular team, could talk themselves into believing that we can offer Lebron the chance to run with Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and some other pieces, and live in L.A. and more money than anyone else.
    Lots of teams would talk themselves into that scenario.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    The paper champs in Miami are sweatin’ over Melo joining the Knicks.

  • wtf

    so i guess everyone is just gonna ignore Melos tweet that obviously kills ESPNs story…..smh

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7xlzLOZH5c Th3_R3al_Chris

    Miami should trade Chris Bosh for Melo lol

  • tgm

    he’s going to be traded to the nets!

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    NY Post HEADLINE after Knicks complete trade for Carmelo Anthony: “MELO’S NY STAGE” BOOK IT!

  • http://www.slamonline.com melvin ely

    “…the pressure to be first is encroaching upon the duty to be right, never mind just.”
    That’s some real ish there Allen, thx for the link.

  • MusketeerX

    Just read rumors that Orlando is also on that list….

    Damn… http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38743707/ns/sports-player_news/

  • http://nicekicks.com meloman2.0

    i would have loved to see melo finish his career in Denver and win a chip eventually… but after what Miami did, i cant really blame him for leaving… The games messed… but i sayyy GOTO Orlando Meloo

  • NBA kid

    Vince and pietrus for melo and a scrub? why does that seem realistic?

  • ENDS

    Hell throw in gortat and Anderson. Hell give em Lil Penny But lets Make this Happen Blue and Black 2010

  • rikson

    Lets first see what miami can do this season before we hype melos possible change! FYI Melo is NOT in the class of LeBron or Wade playing wise… without last years free agency hardly half the people wouldve talked about him! Now get your a** out of your heads people…

  • Ali

    @JTaylor21… I didn’t mention anything about being loyal. I said whatever he decides (to stay or go), just have a little class about it. Get your money, thanks the city and fans, have press conference with his new jersey, smile for the cameras and move on. No need to drag several cities and every melo fan through what LJB did. The Decision, The Blogs, The Tweets, agreeing to The Big 3 introduction concert/spectical in MIA, just kinda silly to me. These are the MAIN reasons LBJ is the most hated guy in the league now. Hopefully Melo learned from Bron that this may not be the best way to do the FA thing.

  • BK Chris

    Seriously if denver is going to trade him, they must trade him now! What’s to say he doesn’t get injured early in the season and isn’t cleared to play until after the trade deadline? Then they would basically be losing him for nothing! The guy obviously doesn’t want to be there. The second best player on the team is going to be 35 before the season starts!

  • http://facebook.com/tronjohnson Chief

    As a big Melo fan I want him to finish what he started in denver, but whereever he goes he’ll do it classier and better than said individuals. That is just his style.

  • Scottie Pimpin

    if chris paul can somehow make it to NY, an eastern conf final would be crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

  • http://www.slamonline.com J

    cosign overtime..

  • http://aspov.blogspot.com Cheryl

    I don’t think ‘Melo, as much as I appreciate his talent, makes any team he goes to an instant contender the way ‘Bron does for Miami, but move him to Orlando and the SE division is going to be CRAZY. Man, I CAN NOT wait for the season to start.

  • http://www.slamonline.com J

    @ allenp i get your point, but then again there was no clear, major indication the bron’s gonna bolt, and even if there was, let say rumors swirled around january, would you even think of trading him knowing that you have a huge shot at getting a title that season? amidst a huge shot at the championship, the main factor in lebron’s decision? Then lets say Gilbert’s trading him knowing Bron won’t re-up with them, isnt the other team gonna be blown off by that, because Lebron might not re-up with them too? Because the team he’s gonna be traded are gonna give major pieces and as a result they won’t contend the following season even with lebron. And lebron doesnt want that. So he won’t sign no matter what.. He wants a title the following year to which ever team he’s traded to.

  • kundai

    Melo in a lakers jersey cannot see it. And i dont think he wants to be known as kobe’s side kick especially having ot already fight his way out of wade and lebrons accomplishments

  • http://slam Kid Canada

    New York could have a great big three to compete with miami’s: Staudmire,Anthony,Paul vs James,Wade,Bosh That honestly could go either way

  • Mr. Robinson

    Carmelo to……….
    MIAMI!
    HA!

  • Nova

    How scary would it be to see the inter-Florida battles of
    HEAT-Bron, Bosh, Wade
    MAGIC!-CP3, Melo, and Howie

  • Ali

    @ Nova… The Association ain’t a 3 on 3 tournament. If it was we probally all give the newly formed big three in MIA the edge every year. It’s about the TEAM in the end. No one, two, or three players win a championship. It takes the entire TEAM. When will everyone see that, and stop all the madness about all these top tier players playing together.

  • MusketeerX

    I don’t think NY can afford CP3 after this. Moreover, if they were going to get him it would need to be in free agency. That’s two years from now. Miami will then have had two years to learn how to gel together.

    NY will be trying to put together a starting cast around their three all-stars and still just learning how to gel (though admittedly the Knicks big three would be better paired than Miami’s).

    But you are looking at 4-5 years out before both teams are at their best and competing in the Eastern Conference Finals.

    Knicks may be able to pull something out in the third year, but still will only have had that year to really learn how to play together (with little supporting cast).

    At this point all your guys are 31/32… coming out of their prime.

    The best move right now is to get Melo. Go after Tony Parker at the end of this year (or try to trade), and hope for the best. But, even with those three, it will be hard to beat the Super Miami Three.

    B/C of Pat the Rat, us NY fans may go without another ring for a long time… even with a trio of superstars.

  • tavoris

    There were obvious indicators that Lebron was gonna bolt. If anyone thought he was gonna stay after the debacle that was the playoffs, then they weren’t really paying attention. The dude quit on his team-AGAIN-and made no real effort to hide it.

  • http://psp2423@yahoo.com 323 356 9658

    hes going to new orleons to play with cp3.

  • The Philosopher

    I should have BEEN done this:
    Shout out to Howard Nathan.

  • BostonBaller

    AllenP….AllenP….AllenP….AllenP….AllenP…..Alle

  • BostonBaller

    As stated before, Anthony’s wife is looking to further her career which usually means LA or NY. The Lakers are probably out so you have The Clips, The Warriors, The Knicks or The Brooklyn Nets

  • Coney Islander

    No one wants to be Kevin Garnett the sequel. Give a a crappy franchise the best years of your career and start playing meaning full basketball when your body is grinding to a halt. Loyalty to teammates, vital, loyalty to ownership not so much! Go get your checks and rings where you can get them, as soon as you can get them. Own the owners!

  • http://www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    @Kid Canada: you’re right, the series could go either way – either the Heat sweep them or it goes to 6 max.

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