With the New Jersey Nets out of the picture for Carmelo Anthony, the New York Knicks are still the team most likely to gain the services of the All-Star forward, be it through trade this season or in free agency. However, there has always been the possibility of a team trading for Melo without looking for him to sign an extension with the team.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban would be interested in making that trade. As the New York Post reports, Cuban said he would be willing to trade for a player in a situation similar to Carmelo Anthony. He can't directly reference Melo because that would be a violation of league rules.
Without any indication of what a potential swap would look like, it's still a better bet that Melo will play out the season with the Nuggets and enter free agency than it would be for the Nuggets to trade him to a team that isn't looking to sign him to an extension. Anthony appears ready to play out the season with Denver.
For Cuban, it is better to attempt to acquire Anthony than to buy a minority ownership in the New York Mets at the moment, right?