Will Carmelo Anthony end up in New York with Amar'e Stoudemire and Chris Paul? Not sure, let's go ask a towel boy
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When ESPN’s Ric Bucher published a short article guessing that Carmelo Anthony would leave the Nuggets, he was not engaging in any sort of responsible journalism.
Bucher cited “league sources†as claiming that Anthony was on his way out of Denver, that it was just a matter of time until Carmelo found his way to New York City. Whether by sign-and-trade or free agent departure, Melo’s days in Denver were sadly numbered.
Of course, “league sources†could mean almost anyone with ties to the NBA.
Ric could have been chatting up a towel boy or waxing philosophical with a front office paper-pusher from any NBA club.  He could then cite that blatantly non-expert opinion as a “league source†with “special knowledge†of the situation. Even though “special knowledge†could mean anybody with half a brain who has kept up with Carmelo’s offseason refusal to sign a lucrative 3-year extension with the Nuggets.
“…he’s going to make it real clear that he’s not coming back,†said one of Bucher’s league sources.
A nebulous quote that says nothing in particular, but which harkens back to Lebron’s definitive decision to “take my talents to South Beach.†The perfect line to kick off ESPN’s inevitable three-week coverage marathon on The Decision II: Melo’s Dilemma.
I won’t go so far as to say that ESPN’s editors put all of their NBA writers’ names in a hat and drew for who got to “break†this invented story, but it is unlikely that Ric Bucher made it up all by himself.
ESPN needed another juicy headline to fill out the front page until the US Ryder Cup team is selected in September (because nobody is sick of reading about Tiger Woods yet… somehow.) And Carmelo left an opening when he failed to downplay toasts made by several guests at his wedding reception insisting that he take his talents to the Big Apple ASAP.
Shake, stir, add a dash of hearsay and a heaping spoonful of conjecture… BAM! Headline news.
One Wedding & a Funeral
It was July 11th, the day after Carmelo Anthony finally tied the knot with long-time girlfriend/fiancé La La Vasquez.
A host of high-profile guests included some prolific representatives of Melo’s NBA clique. Lamar Odom was there. Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin both attended. Lebron James may have been somewhere nearby. But it was Chris Paul of New Orleans Hornets fame who stirred the pot by offering a half-joking toast to Carmelo and his future with the New York Knicks. (Paul is also rumored to be looking for a road that leads to the NYC.)
Stoudemire who signed with New York this summer kept the pressure on, and Carmelo’s brother Robert added more fuel to the fire. The whole unseemly interruption into an otherwise civil celebration got ugly when Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke stood up and offered a toast to Anthony’s future in the Mile High City. (cue crickets)
The end result was a world of speculation as to why Carmelo would not interrupt his own wedding reception to discuss in-depth his plans for the latter half of his NBA career. (cue ESPN speculators)
It is unclear as to whether the reception will appear alongside the wedding ceremony on the VH1’s La La & Carmelo Reality Show this September 19th. However, with Melo’s decision still entirely up in the air, an offer from the Nuggets still on the table, and The Man himself unwilling to give up any potential plot twists, we have to figure out the dirty details ourselves for now.
Or we could let Ric Bucher and his towel boy figure it out for us. According to Bucher’s source, Melo’s silence during the reception says it all:
“There were other people saying, ‘We’re going to get you guys together,’ but it doesn’t become a runaway train if Melo says something,” said one source. “Maybe he didn’t perpetuate it, but tell people to stop or say, ‘Stan, I’m sorry.’ He didn’t do any of that.”
Suffice to say that Carmelo’s wedding reception may have been a funeral for his career as a Denver Nugget.
The Real Story
In reality, Bucher was just writing what most of America was thinking.
Nobody expects Carmelo to stay in a small market like Denver with the bright lights of New York awaiting him. And while Anthony can make more money staying in Denver than by testing the free agent market next summer or forcing a trade this fall, there is an option that would be beneficial to both parties.
A sign-and-trade to the Knicks would at least give Nuggets fans a reason not to despise Melo throughout the inevitable rebuilding process that would follow his departure. If Denver could garner a player and a couple of first round draft picks after signing Anthony to a max deal this offseason and trading him to the wayward Knicks, it would make Melo look like a saint compared to Benedict James in Miami.
While it is no foregone conclusion, the sign-and-trade seems like the only way for the Nuggets to approach break-even on this deal. If Carmelo plays the entire 2010-2011 season in Denver without a new contract, I would be utterly shocked. Nobody in this town wants to see Carmelo Anthony on prime time television announcing that he’s leaving while the Nuggets get approximately squat in return.
In fact, I just got the latest from a janitor at the NBA League Offices on 5th Avenue in NYC:
According to an unnamed league source, “Carmelo and his max deal for Danilo Gallinari and two first round draft picks. My buddy at the copy center heard some suit from accounting talking about it. Good as done.â€
It’s been swell Carmelo. Enjoy the bright lights.
