Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has told the Nets to stop pursuing Carmelo Anthony, claiming that he is unhappy that talks have become public and that trade rumors have caused his team to lose multiple games. Now, according to various sources, Anthony’s reps have moved on and are trying to drag the Bulls into trade talks.
According to Yahoo! Sports:
*There comes a time when the price is simply too expensive,” Prokhorov said in a news conference before Wednesday night’s game against Utah. “I have instructed our team to walk away from the deal.” *
Previously, New Jersey had offered to ship six players and at least two first-round draft picks to Denver in a deal that would have sent Anthony to the Nets along with former Pistons teammates Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton.
Prokhorov decided on Tuesday to end talks with the Nuggets, and general manager Billy King said he informed them via a text message as Prokhorov was speaking on Wednesday.
“Really I am not happy with the way this deal has gone until now,” Prokhorov said. “It has taken too long … and I believe it has cost us several games.”
The highly-touted Nets owner cancelled plans to meet with Anthony and I can’t help but come to the conclusion that both he and other members of the Nets were very sure Carmelo would not agree to sign an extension with them and therefore it wasn’t worth the risk of being rejected.
I’m not incredibly surprised to hear this news as the Nets have talked about withdrawing their interest many times during the past few months due to their discontent with the way negotiations were being handled. It remains to be seen if the billionaire Nets owner will stick to his word but I think he’s as fed up with this madness now as the rest of us.
As I wrote in THIS COLUMN the Bulls have been approached by Anthony’s representatives and I’m sure the Knicks will reignite talks at some point soon.
And the circus carries on…
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