Nuggets Saying No to Knicks for Carmelo Anthony

Denver isn’t interested in what New York is peddling for ‘Melo, but as the NY Times reports, the Rockets could use the Knicks’ former assets against them in the pursuit for the disgruntled forward: “The Denver Nuggets are lending an open ear to N.B.A. suitors clamoring for Carmelo Anthony, a potentially distressing development for the Knicks in their efforts to land the three-time All-Star. In preliminary conversations, the Nuggets have told the Knicks that they do not possess the assets they are seeking if they decide to trade Anthony, according to a Knicks official. The official did not want to be identified because he was describing private conversations between the teams … And in a twist that will make the Knicks and their fans even more frustrated, the Houston Rockets are one of the teams aggressively pursuing Anthony. The Rockets are doing it in part by offering at least one of the draft picks they acquired from the Knicks last February when, in a three-way trade that also involved the Sacramento Kings, the Knicks cleared Jared Jeffries’s salary off this year’s payroll and landed Tracy McGrady’s expiring contract. The Rockets obtained the right to swap first-round picks with the Knicks in 2011 in the deal, which allows them to offer whichever pick is better to the Nuggets. They can also offer the Nuggets the Knicks’ 2012 first-round choice, which they also obtained in the trade … Houston, meanwhile, is prepared to offer a package centered on the shooting guard Kevin Martin and the Knicks’ draft picks, according to an N.B.A. executive who has had discussions with the Nuggets.”