Melo clearly wants to be a Knick so him saying he would sign with the Nets if the Knicks couldn't make a deal for him was a terrible move on his part.
If that is what he said, then what he is really saying is that money is more important to him than playing with the Knicks. He wants to play for the Knicks, but not if he has to take a pay cut. Sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Oh he definitely wants the money but if he said he wouldn't sign with NJ then I think Denver would have bit at New York offer at the last minute. Now Denver seems to have the upper hand in this whole situation when Melo at least had some kind of control up until this point.
Still I think he will be a Knick. If Melo doesn't meet with Prokhorov, which looks likely at this point, then NJ deal is not happening. Maybe he's refraining from doing it infront of the media, but behind closed doors he might soon tell Denver's management he wants only New York and not New Jersey. At that point, the NY trade would be the best offer on the table, especially considering NY recently upped their offer.
That is his best bet. I think he will sit down with Prokhorov though just to talk to him even if he isn't really that interested. If Melo really wants to be a Knick at any cost he will be a Knick. If he is really about this extension then I think there is a great chance he is a Net though.
Yes, this really is strange for everyone involved. If Carmello doesn't say he will sign with the Nets, then the Knicks don't make as strong an offer and the Nuggets may just decide on making no trades at all, thus costing Carmello the money he wants. But, if carmello agrees to sign with the Nets, then both the Nets and the Knicks are forced to make their strongest offer, which leaves very few good players left on the team that Carmello is traded to, thus hurting his new teams chances at being a real title contender. If Carmello was most interested in winning a title, then he would just wait and join the Knicks at the end of the season. However, if he is mainly interested in the money, then he should do exactly as he is doing. I guess the money is more important than winning a title.
At the end of day Melo is the one in control. Denver does not want him to walk for nothing or a Trade exception and some worthless picks. FACT- Melo will not sign a extension if he can't go to a team he wants be at long term. It does not matter how good of a deal the nets put on the table it is contingent on him signing a extension. Denver can posture and try and fool them selves all the want but New York's offer only has to be better then a Large Trade exception and picks and they have to take it. Any team that takes melo as a rental will not ( including us) won't give them the value the Knicks are willing to. I agree with what others have said in this thread about the Nets being in it at this point just to make Knicks pay that much more.
Completely agree with the bolded and everything else you said but the bolded is what me and my boy was talking about when discussing this situation. If Melo reallyyyyyyyyy wants to win in the future then signing with New York in the off-season makes the most sense and then he can hope to make up that money in endorsements. Either way he would be a rich man and not hurting financially.
Quoted for Truth. Focusing on which trade is more beneficial to Denver or which one Denver prefers is irrelevant because it comes down to which team will Melo sign the extension.
Refusing an extension would be to give up $30 million. In any case, Melo to NY gives his agency CAA too much influence. All the superstars and some front office staff with NY & Miami are CAA clients. CP3 would likely be headed to NY...
Funny thing is this is all Melo's fault as to why he is in this situation. If Melo did what Bron and Wade did after their rookie contracts he would have made the money he wanted this past off-season.
Melo doesn't have to choose between money and chance at winning when he can have both. 1) It's pretty obvious by now where Melo wants to go. 2) the Knicks have submitted their final offer. 3) Its up to Denver to decide if they want to let Melo go for nothing, or accept a reasonable offer from New York. They can choose to "stick it" to Melo by not trading him, make him lose $30M by doing so, and let him walk in the off season, but they would be hurting themselves as well in the process. That's not a good business strategy. It would be smart to cut their losses. People are complaining New York's offer is no way near fair market value for getting Carmelo. Well that's pretty irrelevant because it's obvious any trade involving a player of Carmelo's caliber won't be a "fair trade". It won't be dollar-for-dollar. It will be somewhere around .50cents-on-the-dollar. But instead of focusing on that, the reality of it is that from Denver's perspective .50cents-on-the-dollar is better than 0cents-on-the-dollar. So putting that in consideration, .50cents-on-the-dollar is the fair market value for Carmelo. Despite what they are trying to portray, Denver is not in a position of leverage. It seems like they are the ones trying to "have their cake and eat it too". To really think they can get Favors, Harris 4 picks, when Carmelo's about to walk is expecting too much. Only reason that offer was on the table is because the Nets are in a EVEN less favorable position in leverage, and they are desperate for a star to open their arena in Brooklyn. Denver is trying to exploit that but that doesn't mean that is the actual market value for a Carmelo trade given the circumstances.
Even Lebron feels for Anthony: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....to-this-lebron-feels-bad-for-carmelo-anthony/
People always say that it is not a good business decision to to let Anthony go for nothing. However I just honestly do not see why not if they really don't like the Knicks players. The Nuggets like Lawson a lot, and if they want to give him the reins Felton become horribly overpaid as a back up. One could argue starting Felton, but once you lose Anthony your team is rebuilding so you should see what the team has. Gallinari while is nice role player, but is essentially different version of Rashard Lewis, plus he is not shooting the 3 well. A piece definitely but not one a rebuilding team needs. Chandler is good player especially on his contract right now, but you have to expect him to ask for a raise after this season. Then when you factor in a great deal of his improved offense is due a career year in 3-pt % which may not be equaled and he has increased hit 3-pt attempts, he may not duplicate this season, especially if he continues to not play average defense. If anything, I were Denver, I would just let him walk. Sure everyone will talk about "how you didn't get anything back", but in the long run I really don't see how you got anything back anyways, since what you do get is dead weight in Felton, a one-dimensional role player, and another role player who is playing over his head in a contract year now that he has a star player to give him space. Combined with the uncertainty of the next CBA, they would now have flexibility to go in multiple routes depending on what changes, and being a smaller market team who now does not have a superstar or championship aspirations, that is huge. Then I'm sure that Denver could find a better trade for Billups, if he wants to be traded, straight up or while getting rid of either Harrington or Birdman's contract that can get a similar or better No. 1 draft pick and maybe some other player or talent that would actually appeal to the Nuggets.
You obviously haven't been watching the Knicks this season and have only been looking at the Yahoo box scores. If you watched the Knicks play, you'd see that Felton has been crucial in the Knicks success. He is not "dead weight", if he was Knicks wouldn't have been so reluctant to trade him. If anything, Felton could be a useful trade asset for Denver in the future. Another telling sign you haven't watched the Knicks this season is how you called Gallinari "one dimensional". He is far from just a 3 point shooter. He has shown flashes of deceptive athleticism, quickness, and ability to drive to the hoop finishing strong. He has a much more balanced all-around game than most casual observers credit him for. Chandler is due for a raise, but deservingly so. He's only getting better, no reason why he can't keep it up. Outside of Amare, probably the Knicks 2nd best player.
^^^^^^^^^^ I have seen the Knicks play, and all of the players in the deal from NY are average players. The draft pick via Randolph won't be a great pick either. Chandler is a free agent and already said he doesn't want to be in Denver. If Melo walks Den gets nothing, but the NY package isn't much.
Indeed. The problem with the Knicks offer isn't really the players involved, but rather their value. For example, Felton makes for a good FA signing, and is a decent PG. But he's not worth jack on the trade market for Denver, nor is he worth anything to a mediocre team. Plus his contract is at market value for 2 years. Gallo and Fields are the only Knicks players that has real value. The former has injury issues. The latter is an unproven rookie role player who plays a non-premium position. I think the Rockets or the Mavs can truly make better offers than NY in terms of VALUE(taking into account salaries, upside, duration of contracts, etc.) Of course the NJ deal blow everyone else's out of the water, which is probably why Denver is so bent on dealing with them.
NBATV saying Nuggets want Mozgov and Fields instead of Gallinari. Centers are hard to come by. They are losing Nene, anyway. Knicks aren't going anywhere in the playoffs without a 6'11"-7'0" player in the rotation, even if they do get Carmelo. http://twitter.com/alanhahn/status/39033776696729601
WojYahooNBA [rquoter]Denver and New Jersey continue to pursue a meeting with Nets owner Prokhorov and Carmelo Anthony in Los Angeles on Saturday, sources say. Knicks and Nuggets continue trying to hammer home a trade a package, but still no agreement. The Nets remain compromise to get his $65M. Denver knows that Dolan's involvement -- with Isiah in shadows -- has undermined Donnie Walsh and Nuggs can keep pushing for more out of NY.[/rquoter] ChrisMannixSI [rquoter]SI Sources: Nuggets brass has clear preference for Nets offer, showdown with Melo could be looming http://bit.ly/eMxLGz[/rquoter] 'Melo wants New York + money, Denver wants New Jersey. Someone gotta blink.
