Mellowing on Melo

Well NBA training camp have opened and the Carmelo Anthony is still a member of the Denver Nuggets. I wouldn’t bet on that situation lasting too long though. As late as this past weekend, he was set to join the Nets in a proposed four-team trade that would have brought rookie Derek Favors and Andrei Kirilenko to the Mile High City.

Melo has semi-back tracked, stating that he never asked for a trade, but he didn’t have to do that when he turned down a contract extension offer. That was the end of his road in Denver right there. Why wouldn’t they try to deal him now, instead of letting him walk away and get nothing (except for a lousy trade exception) like what happened to Toronto with Chris Bosh and Cleveland with LeBron James?

The Nuggets would be smart to maximize his value and make a deal. It was also smart of them to go to Chicago, New York and the Clippers to see what kind of deal they would offer. Although I’m sure that if those teams truly wanted the third-best scoring swingman in the league, they would have already taken a run at him.

The reported situation with Chicago is an interesting one, though. They refuse to give up Joakim Noah in any deal, under the belief that good defensive centre are more important than scoring wingmen. The last I checked, Noah is good, not great, while Melo is a certified all-pro.

The big thing here is, that no matter where Anthony suits up this season, be it Denver, New Jersey or another team that deals for him now or closer to the trade deadline, there’s a pretty solid chance he’s not going to be there for the 2011-12 season (if it’s not locked out). I would bet you right now he’ll be joining the Knicks to play with Amare and another stud to form his own crew to combat Dwyane Wade’s Hot Hot Heat.