What one person saw as a snag, another saw as negotiations. What was a mood of glowing optimism the previous day became gnawing frustration. And what was perceived to be a process heading to an imminent resolution 24 hours earlier evolved into a waiting game with no definitive end in sight.
The Nets continued negotiations with the Nuggets yesterday in an attempt to close the blockbuster trade for Carmelo Anthony. The three-team, 14-player trade appeared ready to reach agreement over the weekend, when several sources described it as “close.”
But with the details still being worked out, the process is dragging and the optimism that pervaded the Nets organization has taken a hit, though there is still a belief the deal can get done, despite growing annoyance on both sides, especially with the public posture the talks have assumed. League sources said nothing was imminent.
One source who had been optimistic sounded far more doubtful yesterday. Reports said the Nuggets were insistent on reworking the framework of players involved, wanting to shed salary by shipping out Al Harrington and his $26 million salary over four years. Denver also seeks an additional first-round pick.
The latest plot twist came last night with several reports that the Rockets, with chips such as Yao Ming’s $17.7 million expiring contract and several first-round picks, have entered the trade scene for the star forward. The Nets have been confident all along that if they can get a deal in place, Anthony would agree to a three-year, $65-million contract extension, which the Nuggets have offered since June.
In Denver yesterday, Anthony reiterated to reporters that he did not expect a trade to happen this week and said he expects to play tonight against the Suns.
“That’s just my feeling,” said Anthony, who prefers to go to the Knicks, a team lacking the trade chips the Nuggets require. “I don’t think so. I don’t want to elaborate on that anymore. That’s just my personal feeling. . . . It could go on to the [Feb. 24] trade deadline.”
Asked if he would sign an extension to join the Nets, Anthony replied, “I really don’t know.”
The Nets are getting edgy about the non-stop nature of the deal, which has been examined and dissected locally and nationally. It caused coach Avery Johnson to address the team before practice. The Nets leave today for a four-game western trip.
“I had a good long talk with them. We have been hearing rumors since I took over. It’s a different guy every day. Every time, we’re supposedly getting close to something,” Johnson said. “I can’t discuss every rumor. When and if we decide to make a trade, we’ll announce it. We don’t have anything to announce except this is our team and this is who we’re taking to Phoenix.”
Seven of the eight Nets who stand to be involved in the trade practiced. The exception was Troy Murphy, who was sick, according to the team.
To fetch Anthony and Chauncey Billups from the Nuggets plus Richard Hamilton from Detroit, the Nets would trade Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Anthony Morrow, Ben Uzoh, Stephen Graham, Quinton Ross and at least two first-round picks to Denver while Murphy and his expiring $11.9 million contract plus Johan Petro and a draft pick, possibly a second-rounder, would go to Detroit.
“I’ve been around it for a little bit, so it’s not a huge distraction for me,” said Kris Humphries, one of six Nets who would remain.
But Humphries admitted the constant rumors can hurt morale.
“I’d like to say ‘no,’ but if it weighs on one or two guys, I think it’s weighing on the team so maybe so,” he said. “But for us we’ve got a job to do.”
Though the Nets may be feeling the frustration of trying to piece together such an unwieldy trade, they seem to have come too far to walk away. They were close in September before the deal died. They need Anthony as the centerpiece of a team that will move to Brooklyn in two years.