Though there were reports during yesterday's Nuggets game that the team has given the New Jersey Nets permission to speak with Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets star claims to have no idea about a potential meeting with the Nets' owner, Mikhail Prokhorov. From CBSSports' Ken Berger:
Asked what his desire is, Anthony said, "I don’t want to talk to nobody. I let the front office handle that type of stuff. It ain't my job to be talking to New Jersey, New York, the Lakers, Dallas, no one. That’s not my job to do."
Either Anthony is being coy about wanting to play with the New Jersey Nets or he really has no desire to sign a three-year, $65 million extension with them to forgo free agency. If the latter is the case, the Nuggets may not find any acceptable trade partner except in the New York Knicks, who are Melo's preferred destination.
However, the Knicks could just sign Carmelo Anthony as a free agent should the Nuggets be unable to move him before the trade deadline. That way, the Knicks would not need to give up any part of their current roster and the Nuggets would wind up like the Cavaliers and the Raptors this past offseason: receiving basically nothing in return for their star player.
Reports of the Knicks involving the Memphis Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo in a three-team deal for Carmelo have proven to be a non-starter.