Despite the chance Carmelo Anthony could be traded to the Nets any minute, coach Avery Johnson says he expects his roster to remain the same during their upcoming four-game road trip.
“Absolutely, and this is the team that’ll be playing on the whole road trip,’’ Johnson said. “I don’t make guarantees. That’s not my job. The point is, we’re going to have this team throughout the road trip. Now, if for some reason Mikhail Prokhorov and Billy (King, GM) calls and tells me something different, then we’ll have to adjust.’’
The Nets play at Phoenix on Wednesday and visit Los Angeles (Lakers, Friday), Portland (Saturday) and Golden State (Monday) before their next home game Jan. 19 against the Jazz.
A three-team, 14-player trade involving the Nets, Nuggets and Pistons was thought to be agreed to on Sunday, but it had not been completed as of Tuesday afternoon. The Nuggets are believed to be seeking changes to the deal.
ESPN.com reports that Troy Murphy, one of the Nets who would depart in a deal, missed practice for the second straight day Tuesday because of a virus, and will not travel west with the team.
A Yahoo! Sports report says the Nuggets, upset with the public nature of the talks, have threatened the Nets they will trade Anthony to the Knicks.
Anthony on Tuesday avoided the topic.
“I’ll answer any question y’all want, just as long as it ain’t no trade questions,” Anthony said at Nuggets shootaround, according to NBA.com.
With Brian Lewis