Anybody want Carmelo Anthony via trade? If you’re the Nets you had better dig deep in your draft selection piggy bank and grab five - yes, FIVE - 1st round draft picks to acquire him at this point. Also, if you’re looking to acquire Yao Ming you had better be ready to deliver a star or a supreme package of picks and/or prospects as Houston isn’t going to settle for less.
As far as Yao is concerned the Rockets have every right to be picky about what they receive for former franchise-star Yao.
I mean, think about what any team that trades for him will receive. We’re talking an expiring deal, a potential star (if he recovers) and one of the most marketable athletes on the planet.
If any team deserves to receive overcompensation for a player it’s the Rockets. Yao is worth that much and more.
Unless he’s truly finished, of course, and that would be a very sad revelation.
The Nuggets? Good luck with trying to rob the Nets of five 1st-rounders. I highly doubt that’s going to happen but it’s good to think big.
Do I think the Nets are desperate to improve their team and ignite interest in their fan-base? Of course.
Does that mean I think they’d be crazy enough to part with five first-round prospects? No way. I’m pretty sure any sane GM realizes that losing out on that many picks could devastate future efforts to build a competitive team. If they cave into these demands I would be extremely surprised as few players are worth that much.
Those are just a couple of the rumors floating around this evening that I feel compelled to share.
The others are:
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NBA All-Star voting update: Kobe and Howard lead the way
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Are the Timberwolves looking to trade Jonny Flynn?
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Brandon Roy to be sidelined indefinitely?
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Nick Van Exel’s son has been arrested in connection with a murder.
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Will Marcus Camby retire if traded from Portland?
As usual, to view the entire column from the original source please click on the bold headlines.
NOTE: To view previous recent NBA Rumors please scroll to the bottom of this column
Enjoy!
The Denver Nuggets believe the New Jersey Nets are so desperate to make a deal for Carmelo Anthony that they’re holding firm on a trade demand of five future first-round draft picks as part of a package to land the All-Star forward, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
“Denver needs to get real,” one front-office executive said. “That’s not happening.”
Even so, Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke and general manager Masai Ujiri privately insist they’re going to make a team pay a steep price for their franchise player. After a moratorium on Anthony talks because of the death of his sister and the holidays, the Nuggets and Nets will resume discussions next week. There’s still too much posturing to believe a deal can be consummated in the short-term.
For now, the Nuggets want New Jersey to take Al Harrington and Renaldo Balkman as part of a package for Anthony, but they want the Nets to find another team for Troy Murphy and his $12 million expiring contract, and that’s proved fruitless so far. The Nuggets would love a package that includes New Jersey’s rookie forward Derrick Favors and Portland forward Nicolas Batum, but Blazers GM Rich Cho has shown no inclination to include him in a deal.
Now the Rockets are at a crossroads and are mentioned in virtually every trade rumor under the sun, but what they really want back is an All-Star, according to Alex Kennedy at Hoopsworld.
The team has had conversations centered around Yao Ming and are asking for prospects, picks, and ending contracts in return. Though his health is still up in the air, Yao brings plenty to the table when it comes to the team’s sales and exposure. That’s why it will take a very attractive package for Houston to part with Yao.…
Kevin Martin is in a similar boat. Teams have approached the Rockets with offers for Martin, but management won’t budge. When the Orlando Magic offered Marcin Gortat for Martin prior to completing their six-player trade with the Phoenix Suns, Houston declined and instead countered with a deal involving Courtney Lee. Like Yao, Martin won’t be moved unless he’s included in a package that would bring back a superstar, such as Carmelo Anthony.
Melo is the kind of scorer the Rockets really want and could use, but there’s the sticky situation of Houston not being on the list of teams where he has said he will sign an extension (there may be only one team on that list). If Anthony’s stance softens and the Nuggets figure out what they really want, there might be a deal there. But that’s a couple big hurdles in the way.
The New York Knicks have expressed interest in both Sebastian Telfair and Flynn, either of which could provide some additional depth at the point behind Raymond Felton.
Speaking of Felton, his former team, the Charlotte Bobcats, are ramping up their efforts to improve their roster, and Flynn is a player they covet as a back-up to DJ Augustin. As much as everyone would love to see Shaun Livingston regain his pre-injury form, that doesn’t appear to be likely, hence Charlotte’s interest in a more productive back-up to Augustin.
The most unlikely suitors for Flynn to date are the Cleveland Cavaliers, who already have Mo Williams and Ramon Sessions at the point, and sometimes play Daniel Gibson there, as well. Still, unlikely though they seem, the Cavaliers have also reached out to gauge what it would take to land Flynn.
Sources close to the situation tell HOOPSWORLD there doesn’t appear to be anything imminent, and the Timberwolves like Flynn very much, as much for his character and his locker room presence as for what he does on the basketball court. Still, if the right assets are offered - and high draft picks have been mentioned as possible attention-grabbers for Timberwolves GM David Kahn - Flynn could be relocating before the NBA’s trade deadline, which is now roughly a month and a half away. * *
Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will be sidelined indefinitely because of sore knees, the team announced Thursday. The 26-year-old Roy has missed nine games so far this season, including the last six with a sore left knee.
“Unfortunately, Brandon Roy’s condition has not significantly improved and we’ve decided to hold him out indefinitely,” said general manager Rich Cho. “In the short term, we’re going to proceed with an extended period of rest. Beyond that, we’re looking at all available treatment options to help better determine a course of action.”
Roy is averaging 16.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 23 games this year.
The 20-year-old son of former NBA player Nick Van Exel has been charged with capital murder in the death of a close friend, Dallas police announced Thursday.
Nickey Maxwell Van Exel was arrested Wednesday night and jailed on $1 million bond in the death of Bradley Bassey Eyo, 23. Police said Eyo was found on Sunday with a gunshot wound to his upper body near Lake Ray Hubbard, on the outskirts of Dallas.
Authorities later determined that Eyo was killed at a home in the Dallas suburb of Garland and that his body was dumped near the lake, police said.
Paul Johnson, the younger Van Exel’s attorney, told The Associated Press that his client told police he shot Eyo, a longtime friend and neighbor, while the two were engaged in “horseplay” with a shotgun. He said Van Exel didn’t know the gun, which belonged to his stepfather, was loaded.
After the shooting, Van Exel “panicked” and moved the body, Johnson said. Van Exel also tossed the gun in a creek, and it has yet to be found, he said.
In the Western Conference, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant leads the way, and he is the top overall vote-getter, clocking in at more than 1.1 million. The other current starters for the West include Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul, Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony and Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.
Yao, of course, has played just five games so far this season due to injuries, and recently suffered a season-ending stress fracture in his ankle. Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who has also missed extensive time due to injuries this year, is in second place behind Yao. Yes, this makes no sense.
In the Eastern Conference, there’s no question about which center is most deserving (and popular). Indeed, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard leads the East in overall votes, at just under one million. He’s joined by Miami Heat forward LeBron James, Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo.
But according to an unnamed source in Broussard’s report, Camby would consider retirement if he were traded away to a team not in playoff contention. His name came up in a possible trade with the Charlotte Bobcats, where he and teammate Andre Miller would go to Charlotte in exchange for D.J. Augustine and Gerald Wallace.
“If he was traded to Charlotte, he would think about retiring,’’ the source told Broussard . “He’s made plenty of money. He’d rather play, but he’s at the point in his career where he doesn’t want to get bounced around from team to team. If he’s traded, it would have to be to a contender.’’
Camby, who signed a two-year, $21 million extension with Portland this spring, also seems somewhat disinterested in being moved all together. Camby would like to remain in Portland, but might be open to a trade to Houston, where he lives in the offseason.
A large reason why Camby doesn’t want to move is because he moved his family to Portland and enrolled his two young daughters in school there.
**PREVIOUS NBA RUMORS: **
12/28 - Is Yao Ming headed to Sacramento or Charlotte? - CLICK HERE 12/27 - LeBron James swears he doesn’t advocate contraction - CLICK HERE 12/26 - Derek Fisher refutes LeBron James’ comments on contraction - CLICK HERE
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