The amount of buzz surrounding the Carmelo Anthony situation could wake the dead. The Knicks currently are the main trade suitor who’s interested in acquiring Melo, but apparently Denver is asking for a steep price tag.

Allegedly, the Denver Nuggets want the Knicks to give them Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry’s crazy contract, and a future 1st round draft pick in exchange for Melo and Chauncey Billups. Seriously Denver? Are you sure you don’t want to go for Amare Stoudemire as well?

That is comparable to some of the pipe dream transactions my friends send me in my fantasy basketball league. Well, maybe not that bad. Someone did offer me Jonny Flynn for Carlos Boozer afterall.  Well, it is in the same proximity of insanity level to be sure.

If I am the Knicks I would do this: nothing. The Nuggets are and will be screwed once Melo leaves.

Without trading Melo, Denver loses completely, so they have to trade him. Besides that, his individualist style of play lately is killing team morale.

The bottom line: Melo wants to play for New York.

There’s no point to give up the future by losing standout players like Felton and Galinari, when they can keep them, let Eddy Curry head out to greener pastures, and then sign Carmelo after he plays part of a season wherever he is “rented out” for the duration of the 2010-11 campaign.

It’s quite a huge gamble that Melo will like where he ends up if it’s not New York. Perhaps Mark Cuban can pull the string to get Melo to Dallas, and maybe Melo will like it, but other than that I cannot see Melo signing anywhere else other than New York.

And if Carmelo does decide to play somewhere other than New York, the Knicks can chase after Chris Paul, whom is undoubtedly a far better pieze of the puzzle for the Knicks.

It is clear that the Nuggets intend to trade Carmelo Anthony prior to the February trade deadline. It is also no secret that everything hinges on whether or not he will sign a contract extension.

If Melo signs, more viable trade options will present themselves to Denver. If not, a short list of franchises will likely still attempt to acquire the star small forward and immediately focus to seduce him into signing a long term deal with their franchise.

The oldest, and yet most constantly resurfacing rumor, has Carmelo Anthony heading to New Jersey in exhchange for the combination of Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, and Kris Humphries.

Gone baby gone!

If this deal does happen, Denver can also kiss Chauncey BIllups goodbye. Billups will undoubtedly make a demand to be moved to a team with a chance at contention, rather than stick around while Denver assimilates “New Jersey Nets 2.0.” Following this logic furthermore raises the following questions for the Denver Nuggets to answer:

• Where can Chauncey be sent to, and what can they get in return?
• If you can trade Billups, What about Kenyon Martin?
• Can you retain Nene, or will he be the next to make demands?
• Will Denver finally be able to rid themselves of J.R. Smith by packaging him into the deal?
• If they acquire Devin Harris, what will this mean or Ty Lawson’s development?

This is no easy task for Denver’s management to undertake, but there is absolutely zero doubt that this is their only option. It’s also safe to assume that there will be some sort of multi-team deal involving shipping Billups elsewhere.

I can see Devin Harris being shipped out to a third party so the Nuggets can bring in more youth via the draft, and also leave the starting point guard position open for Ty Lawson.

I see Denver attempting to retain Lawson, Favors, Nene, Afflalo, and every other young player with a rookie contract, opting to trade away anyone from fan favorite Chris Andersen on down.

Folks, I am talking about Denver having a major reconstructive procedure to this Denver roster. Imagine the Nuggets are a drug lord who must go into hiding to avoid being slain, needing an entire new face and identity, hiring the worlds best plastic surgeon to make him anew.

That is how serious the Nuggets makeover is going to be, and if you are a member of the Nuggets faithful, your new personal slogan will have to preach patience above all else.

Rumors swarming around a Carmelo Anthony trade out of Denver lit the world on fire heading into this weekend. Then suddenly, the flames died down, without warning, and now it appears everything is about to cool off like the ensuing Denver winter.

The main concern for any potential suitor, specifically the New Jersey Nets, is that all teams with interest in Anthony are not making any moves until a contract extension can be negotiated and signed.

What, can you blame me?

The Nets are currently the front runner to land Anthony on their roster if this mega blockbuster, 4-team transaction happens. Chicago told Denver Joakim Noah is untouchable, and the New York Knicks do not have assets deemed trade-worthy by the Nuggets.

Nets General Manager Billy King told ESPN the following:

“I would say that we’re exploring everything,” King said Sunday. “But there’s no deal. We have nothing. We have nothing. We’re excited about the guys playing. I’ll continue to explore and see if we can make the team better. At this point I’m excited about watching our guys practice.

“I’ll continue to work the phones. It’s going to be a methodical process whether we do a deal now or six months from now or next year. But there is nothing.”

Looking further into this deal, I have no idea why Carmelo would not want to sign the extension and get this deal done. The opportunity to play alongside Brook Lopez, Troy Murphy, Terrance Williams, and Travis Outlaw this season to form a solid core for New Jersey’s future. Murphy might be gone next season, but that frees up cap room to go after Chris Paul.

If Chris Paul does join the Nets down the road to form “Super Friends II” the Nets will become a major threat in the Eastern Conference, likely stealing the limelight in New York, especially after their move to Brooklyn.

The potential to play in Brooklyn, with one of the league’s most promising young enters, and to be the man leading the charge in establishing the Nets presence in Brooklyn seems like a no brain decision.

Carmelo Anthony has made it clear to the Denver Nuggets that wants out, and apparently there is no chance at changing his mind. This is a huge blow to the Nuggets that will set them back in the highly competitive Western Conference.

With Anthony now all but officially gone, and recent efforts to move J.R.Smith (which were even more recently complicated by Smith having the police called on him), Denver’s status of powerhouse is swiftly descending into a franchise clearler resembling a team in rebuilding mode.

Man I gotta get outta here.

New owner Josh Kroenke and GM Masai Ujiri will be forced to test the waters of NBA startup.

Realistically, with Melo out of the picture in Denver, how soon is it before Chauncey Billups begins asking to be traded somewhere he can contend? At this point in his career Billups deserves to be somewhere his contributions count, and Denver may as well try to cash in on him for draft picks and youth while also developing Ty Lawson at the point.

Another question Melo’s departure raises is whether or not George Karl plans to stick around and subject himself to this malay. The guy just battled throat cancer, what else dos he need to suffer through? A contender right on the verge of doing something special, or sticking around through the growing pains of a rebuilding franchise?

It has been report by NBA Fanhouse that the Denver Nuggets have placed J.R. Smith on the trading block. Smith is a solid player, but who would want to take on all the psychological baggage that comes with him?

For starters, Smith is inconsistent from year to year, fluctuating from one year to the next. Who wants inconsistency? How do you build with that?

Which J.R. Smith will show up for your team?

Also, it seems like it always takes him the first half of the season to warm up, then start to perform well. Here is a look at his numbers for the 2009-10 season:

Sure everyone likes a strong finisher, but what kind of impact will this have on a team’s first half record?  His scoring is slightly better on higher shooting percentages across the board, but do you really want 46 games at a lower performance level, knowing this is how the guy is and that is what to expect?

Even a few wins make a difference and can cost your team a prime slot in the playoffs.

Smith is also known for a history of not getting along with his coach, George Karl. Disruptive teammates can cause major distractions to team chemistry. The Nuggets have a pension for maximizing the talents of players possessing the “thug” mentality, so what sort of degradation in performance and behavior should a potential trade suitor expect?

Smith has shown us all otherworldly talents on the basketball court. He shows us flashes of absolute brilliance with enough frequency to rekindle the hope that he will someday put it all together. Probably so much for a team to take him via trade and cross their fingers. Realistically though, Smith is entering his 7th year and about to turn 25 in September.

Smith represents the ultimate high risk, high reward potential. The bad attitude and immaturity issues can be a huge detriment, and will likely eliminate him from conservative management.

That being said, where could J.R. Smith end up?

Chauncey Billups was named as the successor to Chris Paul’s All Star spot today. Chris Paul is undergoing knee surgery for a torn meniscus, and will likely miss an extended period of time. Charles Barkley is probably walking around telling folks “Chris Kaman is rollign around in his grave.”

Not to discredit Kaman, but Billups is the integral leader of the 33-15 Denver Nuggets, good for a 1st place ranking in the Northwest Division. The Clippers are 21-27, 3rd in the Pacific Division, and nowhere near as good as Denver.

They got this one right. (Credit: picapp.com)

Billups was originally snubbed by both voters and the coaches alike, whom opted to select Brandon Roy, Deron Williams, and Chris Paul. Billups had this to say about it:

“Do I feel like I should’ve got in by the coach’s vote? Of course I do,” Billups said. “But I don’t know that I deserve it over anyone. It doesn’t take the luster off of it. At the end of the day, I’m an All-Star. I’m there.”

Since rejoining the Western Conference Billups it comes as no surprise that he could be overlooked. The Western Conference is saturated with the best point guards in the league, the exception being Derrick Rose. I suppose you can toss in Rajon Rondo as well.

Seriously Javs, Chris Kaman? Come on! (Credit: picapp.com)

At the end of the day, Billups is the most deserving to fill the shoes of Chris Paul in representing the Western Conference’s best. As good as Kaman is, you must wonder what sort of deflated numbers he would be averaging on a winning team.

Billups, on the other hand, makes teams into winners.