Melo wants out of Denver, looks at New Jersey
LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony all came into the league in the same year being part of what was one of the most talented drafts in NBA history.
James, Bosh and Wade, decided to join forces this summer when they became free agents, Anthony, however, still has one-year left on his contract with the Denver Nuggets. At the end of the 2006/07 season, James-and-co all signed three-year contracts with fourth year player options.
Melo, however, signed a five-year extension at the end of the 2005/06 season keeping him under contract until 2011. Back then "this is where I want to be," was Anthony’s mindset, not anymore according to reports.
It’s no secret that Melo wants out of Denver and it’s no secret the Nuggets have entertained offers for their franchise player. Reports suggest Denver are close to ending their relationship with Anthony with a deal in place which would send the All-Star to the New Jersey Nets and would include two other teams.
But the Nuggets stalled on that deal with hopes of retaining Melo for this season and beyond. Denver has offered the power forward a three-year $65million extension to stay with the team he started his professional career with.
“I would say that we're exploring everything. But there's no deal. We have nothing. We have nothing. We're excited about the guys playing. I'll continue to explore and see if we can make the team better. At this point I'm excited about watching our guys practice.
"I'll continue to work the phones. It's going to be a methodical process whether we do a deal now or six months from now or next year. But there is nothing,” New Jersey Nets general manager Billy King said when asked about trading for Anthony.
All the trade talk does bring into question the loyalty of players and value of modern day contracts. If Anthony had no desire to see out the whole of his contract, then why sign such a long deal in the first place? And he’s not the first player this season to request a move from his team, Chris Paul requested to be traded from the New Orleans Hornets despite having two years left on his deal.
Both Paul and Anthony may have had their heads turned by this summer’s goings on, not wanting to be left behind by James-and-co and when a team like the New York Knicks have money to spend the lure of the bright lights is sometimes too much.
Maybe Melo just wants a change of scenery, maybe he thinks he has a better chance of winning elsewhere but with just one-year on his contract the 26-year-old should stay loyal to the place where he wants to be – or at least wanted.
Denver hope Anthony will stay, they want him to stay, but when the want to leave runs deep, in the end there will be nothing Denver can do.
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