Forget the media circus of a star player demanding a trade during the final year of his contract and then having the drama play out during the following months of the season. The Denver Nuggets and all the teams they were involved with during the Carmelo Anthony trade discussions wouldn't have happened under a new rule the league has proposed during the current CBA talks.
↵From ESPN's Marc Stein:
↵↵↵A new "Carmelo Rule" that would prevent teams -- as the New York Knicks did in February with Anthony -- from using a Bird exception to sign or extend a player acquired by trade unless they are acquired before July 1 of the final season of the player's contract
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As Ben Golliver at CBS Sports points out, the NBA Players Association is likely against this, but that it could potentially stabilize where star players commit their careers to.
↵Not that this matters much to the Nuggets right now. They have neither the star player who wants out nor a star player who wants to come.
↵[UPDATE] But if the rule had been in place last season, it wouldn't actually have applied to 'Melo. He had exercised an option for the 2011-12 season.
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