Carmelo Anthony: It's About When He Will Be a New York Knick, Not If

Toons

is the Bo$$
Let?s just stop the speculation. There is officially ZERO chance Carmelo Anthony re-signs with the Denver Nuggets. It just isn?t happening, and anyone who still thinks so must be smoking the same stuff as San Fran Giants fans.

He has already begun to go into NFL Wide Receiver Diva Mode, as seen last night during a big win against the Utah Jazz (and the emotional return of head coach George Karl).

Anthony had a series of comments that must have just driven a stake into the hearts of Nugget fans, such as:

?They want to sit down and talk, but my thing is it?s way beyond this year. It ain?t got nothing to do with the new GM, Josh (Kroenke), the players. For me, I feel it?s a time for change. ? If I do nothing now, I?m never going to do anything. I feel like my time is now to make a decision if I want to leave or if I want to stay.?

Uh, yeah. Those are the words of a man whose bags are packed.

Unfortunately, as many Knicks fans are undoubtedly aware, the team does not possess the talent or the draft picks to satisfy Nuggets management. The Chicago Bulls do, but they inexplicably refuse to part with Joakim Noah. The New Jersey Nets might have the pieces, but a deal has yet to materialize.



(Editor?s Note: Can you imagine if the Knicks had Noah and he was the only reason we weren?t trading for Carmelo Anthony? We?d burn the Garden down.)

For those of you still hurt from the three-year chase of LeBron James, please realize this is incomparable. LeBron?s desire to come here was nothing more than desperate speculation. The Yankees caps, the smiles at the MSG crowd, even the orange-and-blue bird in his puppet commercial were all just theories.

Melo WANTS to be a Knick. He went to school at Syracuse and grew up in The City. Next week marks the release of his new DVD documentary, which is apparently just two hours worth of him declaring his love for NYC. Whereas James had to be enticed by the idea of winning in New York, Melo actually dreams about it.

He may finish the 2010-2011 season in a Nuggets jersey, or a Bulls jersey, or a Nets jersey. But, he will start the next season with the word ?KNICKS? across his chest.

For all of you who weren?t following us during the summer, here?s Mark C. Rinaldi?s Seven Ways Carmelo Anthony becomes a New York Knick:
 

Toons

is the Bo$$
felton
fields
melo
amare
mozgov

anyone that cant play defense needs to go. enough with the immature teams. a bench of douglas, azubuike, chandler will do well.

so we deal
curry's expiring contract
turiafs expiring contract
gallo
first rounder

we get melo
 

Toons

is the Bo$$
Fear of Losing the Franchise for Nothing

After seeing Cleveland and Toronto lose their franchise players and only receiving minimal compensation, the Nuggets may elect to deal Carmelo (who has already shown his reluctance to sign a contract extension).

The Knicks have three young wing players who would fit in well with the Denver offense in Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph and Danilo Gallinari. A package including two of these players along with an expiring contract or a draft pick (or two) could be enough to pry away the Denver All-Star.



Denver Falls Out of Contention



The Lakers, Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers and Grizzles will all be better next year, and Dallas, San Antonio and Phoenix all expect to still be in contention.

With the uncertainty of Coach Karl’s health and the fact that any one injury to the Nuggets could legitimately push Denver out of playoff contention, it is completely conceivable that Denver would want to move Melo to a team who is still a contender, who is in the Eastern Conference and a team with the assets to give up in a blockbuster or money-saving deal. The new New York Knicks could be that team.



The Sign and Trade

At the end of the year, Carmelo may just opt to “take his talents elsewhere.” He likely wants to do right by the fans and the city he has known to love and call home for what would be eight whole seasons, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he sticks around.

Even after this summer of free agency spending, the Knicks will have the cap room to make a monetarily uneven trade that would give the Nuggets a young athletic wing and a draft pick or two to help them rebuild.



The Wife

This wouldn’t be the first time a prominent male athlete does something for his superstar celebrity wife (see: Rick Fox, Mark Teixiera). Now, I am not saying that the Brooklyn-born LaLa Vazquez is a star yet, but if you want to become a star in the entertainment industry you move to New York or L.A. (or South Beach, apparently).



Marriage isn’t easy for any couple, and one of the most pressing issues is where they should call home and start a family. The Anthonys have the option to live in pretty much any city in the U.S., but New York offers both Carmelo and LaLa what they want for their careers, especially when the Knicks owner, James Dolan, also owns one of the largest cable providers in the Northeast.



The Third Team

The Nuggets may decide to give up on Carmelo but not on the season. If this happens, they would need to make a deal at the deadline that would give them a player who could somewhat fill the void left behind when they trade Anthony away.

Denver could get desperate enough to try and acquire another team’s superstar who has fallen out of favor with the franchise. But without an expiring contract, it could be hard to pick up a player of that caliber.

The Knicks have the expiring contracts of Ronny Turiaf, Eddy Curry and Kelenna Azubike, any of which could be used to pick up a player like Gilbert Arenas or Monte Ellis who can help pick up the slack left from Melo’s Denver departure.



The Wait and See Approach

As Knicks fans remember the day Donnie Walsh traded away Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph, the media pretty much promised New York LeBron James and Chris Bosh.



As we all know, things didn’t really pan out the way Spike Lee and the rest of the Knicks fans would have liked, but it is possible that the summer of 2011 could become more productive then the summer of 2010.

The Knicks have put into place some very attractive pieces to build a team around, such as Amar’e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, but only time will tell if that team, a max contract and Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system will be enough to lure Carmelo back to the East Coast.
 

Speak3asy

Benchwarmer
felton
fields
melo
amare
mozgov

anyone that cant play defense needs to go. enough with the immature teams. a bench of douglas, azubuike, chandler will do well.

so we deal
curry's expiring contract
turiafs expiring contract
gallo
first rounder


we get melo

Turiaf I think has to stay. The dude can protect the paint and seems to be a good fit in with the team. Everyone else can peace out.
 
The biz side of sports is weakening the game. Mello should play along too by mysteriously coming down with an ankle injury so his trade value can be lowered. However, I think he respects Denver too much for that thought to have ever crossed his mind. The owners and GM's has been crapping up the game with their politicks and greed for so long...I just think dishing out a bit of their own medicine would be sweet poetic justice. Well, it still might happen, just my wishful thinking thou...
 

Hitman

Benchwarmer
(Editor’s Note: Can you imagine if the Knicks had Noah and he was the only reason we weren’t trading for Carmelo Anthony? We’d burn the Garden down.)

And strangely enough, the Bulls are a much more successful team than the Knicks.

Coincidence?
 

serendipity10

Benchwarmer
If Carmelo doesn't stay in Denver the Knicks only real competition is the Nets. The better team will have a better chance of getting Melo.
 

KING~POETIQ

The One and Only
IDGAF about Melo. What we need is a playmaking point guard (chris paul) and that's it.

And don't give me that BS about we can get both, cause if we do that, we won't be able to re-sign the players we have now.

What's better- a complete team .. or .. a team with 3 stars and below average complimetary players?? EXACTLY
 
If Carmelo doesn't stay in Denver the Knicks only real competition is the Nets. The better team will have a better chance of getting Melo.

Yes I agree that the Nets are the main competition and also the Clippers.

It all depends if the Knicks can get a third team involved and can entice Denver with enough talent.

Right now there is bad blood with us and Denver and it will take something substantial for the Nuggets to agree on a deal with the Knicks.
 

Paul1355

All Star
Melo will be here this year...the thing is that I don't want us trading Fields or Douglas...i hope these guys stay under the radar so we keep them and we just deal Gallo, Chandler, and Randolph....it seems like all three of those guys are injury prone anyways...let's get Melo
 

janglesjr

Rookie
First post on this site - very glad I found a Knicks forum like this. I am in the military and it's great to have a site I can visit while out on tour.

I hope Melo is a Knick soon...I've been hearing that another possible rumor is bringing Nash to the Knicks too - I would love that.

I found this story http://hoopstopia.com/?p=163 that breaks down a trade that brings both nash and melo to the Knicks...Seems like a long shot, but still possible. What do you guys think?
 

WOODMO

Rookie
Don't get me wrong, I definitely want Melo on the Knicks, I just would rather do so as a FA.

I think Gallo can be special, not Melo level special, but special none the less. If we can get Melo for Randolph, Chandler and other parts I'd be all for it now, but not at the expense of Gallo.
 

janglesjr

Rookie
I agree with parts of that, but do you let Gallo go as well if you have a shot at getting Steve Nash too?

Nash, Melo and Stoudemire? I think it's worth the gamble...
 

iSaYughh

Starter
Chandler, AR, two 2nds, 2014 1st (trade Chandler or AR for a quality 1st).

The strokes of time weaken DEN's leverage more and more, and give them more reason to panic and bend over and just take it. The only reason they don't is pride and spite, that ends when Melo walks into MSG and we are all the stronger.

Felton
Melo
Gallo
STAT
Turiaf

Could be our gametime finisher lineup...Moz/Douglas/Fields/Walker/Azzy off bench.

People talking about us having some lame bench are whack. Even if we had to include Fields, and lose Azzy to FA.

Same talk about MIA being Three Stars + 0...which turned out to be false as some predicted it would.

And we'd have more cap, and a lot more quality bench to start with anyways.
 

smokes

Huge Member
Honestly, I wouldn't give up Noah for Melo.

Defensively he's an A, and once he polishes up that mid range he was popping in last seasons playoffs he's gonna be an offensive B+. Legit seven footer, wouldn't be surprised to see him backing up Dwight in the ASG this year.

I'd love to see Melo on the Knicks, but be real. He's a scorer, plain and simple. We don't have a scorer so he would be awesome for us. Bulls have Rose, they don't NEED Melo like we do.
 

smokes

Huge Member
Don't get me wrong, I definitely want Melo on the Knicks, I just would rather do so as a FA.

I think Gallo can be special, not Melo level special, but special none the less. If we can get Melo for Randolph, Chandler and other parts I'd be all for it now, but not at the expense of Gallo.

And seriously, how can people still be preferring Gallo over Chandler?! I can understand it in 2008/09 when neither had shown much beyond being a 15/5 guy but Chandler is busting out this season.

Sorry but until Gallo manages to score 20+ for 3 games in a row, Chandler any day of the week.
 
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