OAKLAND, Calif. — The Nets have permission to talk to Carmelo Anthony.
No, they don’t.
Anthony has a meeting planned with the Nets’ Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
No, he doesn’t.
The trade of the Nuggets’ superstar to the Nets is imminent.
No, it isn’t.
There, consider yourself caught up on the latest in the seemingly unending Anthony drama.
Amid swirling and conflicting reports, the only thing that is certain is the Nets remain in constant conversation with the Nuggets, hoping to finalize a deal to bring Anthony and Chauncey Billups from Denver and Richard Hamilton from Detroit.
One source yesterday maintained that, regarding reports the Nets have both permission from Denver to talk with Anthony and a planned meeting with the coveted star, “neither” was true. That would support the contention of coach Avery Johnson, who before yesterday’s 109-100 loss to the Warriors said it was news to him that the team had received permission to chat with Anthony.
“I had a conversation with Billy [general manager King] yesterday and I have not heard that,” said Johnson, who reiterated his team won’t change soon. “You’ll see the same team [tomorrow]. I guess we were supposed to have a new team [tomorrow], but that’s not going to happen.”
There are snags. First, the Nets and Nuggets must agree on all pieces of the trade. Then, Anthony must agree to sign an extension; Denver has had a 3-year, $65-million offer in place since June. And the Nets and Nuggets must settle on what draft picks will be dealt in the three-team, at least 14-player trade.
One source maintained the Nets offered two first-round picks, but the ante was upped to three: two of the Nets’ and the third one of the picks the Nets have picked up in trades.
The Nuggets have repeatedly tweaked the deal. The Nets also are expected to assume Renaldo Balkman plus the two years and $3.5 million left on his salary.
“One problem is teams see the Nets’ owner as a bank with unending assets,” one league source explained. “It’s like ‘Take this and this and this.’ Teams think [Prokhorov] can and will absorb anything.”
Prokhorov is expected to arrive in the United States today, then attend “Russian Culture Night” tomorrow in Newark, where the Nets play Utah. The Nets face Detroit, the third team involved in the deal, Friday.
Nets players insist they are not bothered by all the constant talk and speculation but their play suggests otherwise — they just finished an 0-4 trip to run the losing streak to six and drop their record at the halfway point to 10-31. This trade talk began in September and has dragged on virtually non-stop, although it almost reached a conclusion a week ago Sunday.
“The Nets really thought it was done [last Sunday],” one of the sources said. “And that was important because they had a little break [off Monday and Tuesday] to move players around.”
The glitch came when the Nuggets wanted Al Harrington ($28 million left on his contract) included.
The Nets remained optimistic, near certain, the deal would get done. There is no way it could have gone this far without the team holding that belief. But Anthony himself Sunday night doused the Nets’ enthusiasm by saying he had no desire to meet with them even with Denver’s blessing, because it was not his place. Anthony insisted he would still be in Denver next week.
“I can’t talk to them people,” said Anthony. “The Denver Nuggets still pay me. I can’t talk to nobody. . . . I don’t want to talk to nobody. I let the front office handle that type of stuff. It ain’t my job to be talking to New Jersey, New York, the Lakers, Dallas, no one. That’s not my job to do.”