Except, once again, if Melo wants to come here (not saying he absolutely does, but IF he does) then he refuses to sign the extension for any other team except us, and then Denver has to either take what we give them or lose him as a FA next summer. It is literally that simple.
If we get Melo at all it will be because he's forcing the trade here. At which point the ball is in our court and Denver has ZERO leverage. It's not a situation where they can negotiate anything if Melo is saying "trade me to the Knicks or watch me walk, your choice." Why in the world would Donnie Walsh say "alright guys....we all know you have no say in where Melo goes and he's forcing your hand to trade him here...we also know you're desperate to receive some sort of compensation for the best player on your team and you don't want to watch him walk and receive nothing next summer....let's negotiate?"
I think a bunch of people on the internet are trying to piece together a trade of equal value for Melo, which won't be the case if he's traded here. A trade to the Knicks would be 100% Carmelo's doing and him strong arming Denver into making the move, otherwise he's leaving for nothing.
We can't compete with the pieces on the Nets, Kings, or Clippers, and still put a good team on the court this year, nor should we try to compete with them. If they decimate their team for one guy, fine. But if Melo forces his way to the Knicks, take advantage of the situation and don't be the dummy that pays full price for an item that's discounted. Once again, if Melo says "Knicks or I walk next year" and we say "Curry, Chandler, 2014 pick, plus whoever not named Amar'e, Felton, Gallo, Randolph, or Turiaf" and Denver turns it down....well they'll watch Melo walk. If they don't want to watch him walk, the deal goes through.
That's the only way we're getting him. Donnie's not going to blow the team up for one guy.
Plus there's also a misconception that the overall amount of money on contracts is coming down in the new CBA. That's probably not true, there's no way the NBAPA is going to sit back and watch the owners start paying players for pennies on the dollar in comparison to what they make now. It's probably going to be the length of the contracts that's hit the hardest. Money might come down a little but not to the extent people seem to think.
And Denver's owner coming out and saying that they don't want to get burned like the Cavs did with LBJ tells you exactly who the power players are. They're not going to hold onto Melo and watch him walk and sign a fresh contract with someone else. And if they try to move him but his new suitor wants to know that they're not renting him...they need him so sign the extension for the trade to go through...if Melo refuses, no trade. The majority of the power is in his possession. Unless someone decides to make the trade and try to convince him on an extension afterwards.