Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov told the team to end discussions about a Carmelo Anthony deal in January. (AP)
The owner has said the Nets are done. Some people within the organization say they are done. Most indications say they are done.
But around the NBA, there is a strong undercurrent that the Nets, while idle now and certainly not viewed as favorites in the hunt, are anything but done if there indeed is a trade in the Carmelo Anthony saga.
Though multiple sources said there is nothing going on at present, there exists a growing feeling the Nuggets will contact the Nets again while playing the drama out until the Feb. 24 trading deadline.
“You know Denver’s going to call back,” predicted one agent whose client was involved directly in the proposed megadeal that Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov short-circuited Jan. 19. “And when the Nuggets call, you think the Nets are going to hang up?”
Anthony yesterday gave the strongest argument for the Nuggets to never make that call.
The All-Star forward told the Denver Post that if he is not traded anywhere by the deadline he would “take a real hard look” at staying put in Denver and sign the three-year, $65-million extension that has been on the table since June. With $18 million in play for next season if he doesn’t opt out for free agency, that’s $83 million guaranteed. That’s a lot to walk away from, even for the chance to join the Knicks as a free agent.
“It was something that I would take a real hard look at . . . and make my decision,” said Anthony, who gave his first indication he might re-sign. “That’s something that I think about, that nothing might happen, that I’ll be here.”
Around the Nets, there is a belief the Nuggets will call, but there also is the insistence the Nets in no way will initiate talks or be amenable to parting with what they once would have surrendered. One source said any revived deal, if it did come to that, would contain a “shell” of former proposals. It still might be better than what the Nuggets are being offered elsewhere.
“The best thing that happened to the Nets was the Knicks offer,” one league source said. “Eddy Curry, a draft pick they don’t have and maybe a guy who needs surgery [Wilson Chandler] is the meat of the offer.”
The Nuggets wanted multiple draft picks from the Nets. The Lakers don’t have their own (traded to the Nets) this year and thus can’t trade next year’s.
One opposing executive, stressing it was only his opinion, said he still likes the Nets’ chances to land Anthony because they simply have the best trade assets.
“When all’s said and done,” the executive said, “the Nets have the most to offer.”
That’s if there is a trade and Anthony is moved.
The Nets potentially have six first-round picks in the next three drafts, but Prokhorov was adamant when he pulled the plug that his team would not revisit talks, a stance seen by some as posturing.
Some suggest reports of the interest by the Knicks and Lakers arrived to tweak the Nets’ involvement again.
On at least two occasions, the Nets thought they were about to close the trade for Anthony, only to have talks stall as the Nuggets sought to either obtain additional draft picks or dump more salary.
If a deal ever were struck, the Nets still would need the assurances that Anthony would sign and according to some in the organization they still believe he would, despite his obvious desire to play in New York.
Playing in the Nets’ favor is the looming labor situation because Anthony could be gambling $25 million to $40 million if he opts for free agency under a new collective bargaining agreement.