Report: Nuggets Asking For Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton As Part Of Carmelo Anthony Deal

Read More: Carmelo Anthony (F - NYK), Raymond Felton (G - POR), Chauncey Billups (G - LAC), Danilo Gallinari (F - DEN), New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets

Are the Denver Nuggets now playing hardball in their attempts to trade Carmelo Anthony? According to the New York Daily News, the Nuggets are asking the New York Knicks for a robber baron's fortune for 'Melo. This reported deal would have the Nuggets send 'Melo and Chauncey Billups to the Knicks for forward Danilo Gallinari, point guard Raymond Felton, Eddy Curry's expiring contract and a first-round draft pick.

Felton is 26 years old and is enjoying an All-Star-level performance this season (though not selected as one) with 17.2 points and 9.0 assists per game, all career highs. Gallinari, 22, has not played like previous big men the Knicks have drafted, averaging over 15 points per game each of the last two seasons.

Earlier reports had the Nuggets and the Knicks involved in a three-team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves that included lesser players returning to the Nuggets. But since Carmelo Anthony has a strong desire to play with the Knicks, it appears that general manager Masai Ujiri wants to receive as much as he can in return for his star player. However, the last time the Nuggets brass tried to demand too much, the New Jersey Nets had pulled out of a trade that appeared on the cusp of consummation.

Like Knicks management, SB Nation New York is none too pleased with these trade demands and jokingly suggests that the Nuggets should ask for some real estate and land, too.

Will the Nuggets lower their demands by the Feb. 24 trade deadline or will they decide to do their best with 'Melo and see what happens with the extension offered to him?