Sources have confirmed that the Nets are extremely close to landing Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Anthony Carter and Sheldon Williams in a complicated three-team trade with the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons.
It looks like this is finally going to happen, and soon.
Would this REALLY be enough to satisfy Anthony?
Seriously?
The Pistons-Nuggets-Nets trade was first reported yesterday:
According to the report by Yahoo! Sports analyst Adrian Wojnarwoski:
With Anthony’s agent so heavily involved in brokering particular players in the deal, the Nets are working under a belief that a proposed package to bring them Hamilton and Denver’s Chauncey Billups would be sufficient to sell Anthony on joining them over his preferred destination, the New York Knicks. Rose and William Wesley of CAA have long wanted to get Anthony and another of their clients, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul, to the Nets as the franchise prepares for a move to Brooklyn, N.Y. Whichever franchise gets Anthony – the Nets or Knicks – will find itself a frontrunner to eventually acquire Paul. For now, Rose is pushing hard to get a suitable package together for Denver to get his client off a team he longer wants to play for. As part of a package that would bring them Anthony and Billups for Derrick Favors, Devin Harris and multiple first-round picks, New Jersey proposed sending the Pistons Troy Murphy and Johan Petro for Hamilton and Detroit’s 2011 first-round draft pick.
Now the teams appear ready to deal:
The proposed trade will send Anthony, Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Nuggets guard Anthony Carter and forward Shelden Williams to the Nets. The Nuggets will receive two first-round picks from the Nets, point guard Devin Harris, rookie forward Derrick Favors, guards Anthony Morrow, Ben Uzoh, Stephen Graham and Quinton Ross. The Pistons will get Murphy and Petro.
One front-office executive said Anthony is “on board” with signing a three-year, $65 million extension with the Nets – provided New Jersey completes the Detroit part of the deal.
“He wants to play with Rip,” the source said.
Richard Hamilton’s availability hasn’t been hidden - he has $25 million left on his current contract and has not been pleased with his demotion to sixth-man this season in favor of Ben Gordon. Hamilton is averaging just 13.7 points (his lowest since 1999-00) and shooting just .417 from the floor this season and even Tracy McGrady has eaten into his playing time significantly (19 MPG). McGrady has played point guard at times this year but he’s obviously a natural guard/forward and has a much more manageable contract than Hamilton’s right now.
It’s also worth mentioning that McGrady has played rather well in spurts over the last few weeks, scoring in double-digits in six of his last eight while dishing out six or more assists four times. He’s also been averaging nearly 30-minutes per night which leads me to believe that they are slowly working Hamilton out of the rotation.
Billups’ situation is intriguing - he is being paid over $13 million this season guaranteed but next season, the final one on his current deal, is unguaranteed at $14 million. Billups still brings a lot to the table right now as he’s posting 16.9 points and 5.0 assists per night for the 20-15 Nuggets but he has repeatedly stated his desire to remain in Denver as he doesn’t want to uproot his family.
However, it looks as if he’s either warmed to the idea of joining former teammate Richard Hamilton in New Jersey or he’s requested and will receive a buy-out.
If the Nets did acquire Billups they could guarantee next season’s contract and go after Chris Paul in the summer of 2012 if they so choose. Losing Devin Harris might be troublesome if they don’t secure Paul via free-agency but, in my opinion, Harris is a bit overrated and Denver could find a suitable replacement down the road or sign Billups to a short-term deal.
And remember, whoever acquires Anthony will immediately become the front-runner to land Paul. Their friendship simply cannot be overlooked so if the Knicks want Paul in 2012 they better start getting serious.
Unless they are perfectly content with Raymond Felton, who I happen to think is having a borderline all-star season.
Despite this report, I don’t think that this is what Anthony had in mind when he stated recently that he wanted a situation similar to that in Miami. Billups and Hamilton don’t exactly resemble the newly minted “Heatles”, I’m afraid.
Could being with the Nuggets really be that bad? Does Anthony REALLY want to play with a past-his-prime Richard Hamilton that much?
What are your thoughts?
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