The Washington Wizards Should Trade For Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony trade rumors are spreading like wildfire. Anthony is one of the top five players in the NBA, along with Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James. The Denver Nuggets should be able to get a significant amount in return from whichever team is able to pull off this trade. The problem for most teams in the hunt for Anthony is that they do not have anything to offer that the Nuggets are looking for. The Denver Nuggets have a talented roster without Anthony, so trading for young players with potential would be a mistake and send the wrong message (rebuilding) to their fan base. They can still put together deep playoff runs with the roster they have, if they add the right players. There is one team that can provide the star power the Nuggets need to make this a fair trade option: The Washington Wizards.
The Wizards management and ownership should be jumping all over the opportunity to trade for Carmelo Anthony, and they have the players to make this trade a reality. What they should offer the Nuggets is Gilbert Arenas and either Josh Howard or Al Thornton in return. If it also takes next year's first round draft pick, along with those players, than Wizards General Manager Ernie Grunfeld shouldn't hesitate for a moment.
This trade would make both teams better right now. The Nuggets will lose Carmelo Anthony next summer, and have nothing to show for it. It would be better that they get All-Star talent in return for Anthony now. If they traded with the Wizards, the Nuggets starting five would be Chauncey Billups, Arenas, Al Harrington, Kenyon Martin, and Nene Hilario. Their depth off the bench would be very strong with Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith, Howard/Thornton, and Chris Andersen. This team would continue to be a 50 win team for the next three to four years.
The other NBA teams that want to trade for Anthony just don't have the talent to offer in return for Anthony that the Nuggets are looking for. The New York Knicks have no one that the Nuggets want or need. Same goes for the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, or any other team in the running for Carmelo. There are only two other teams that can get close to offering what the Wizards can, and they are the Orlando Magic (Vince Carter and another player) or the New Orleans Hornets (David West and another player). But Denver doesn't want Carter, who is aging quickly, and the Hornets may not want to part with West. The Wizards option turns out to be the best one for the Denver Nuggets in the long run.
The Wizards need to do everything they can to make this happen. The foundation of the Wizards is young and talented, and this team would be a perfect fit for Carmelo's style of play. The starting line-up would feature John Wall, Kirk Hinrich, Carmelo Anthony, Andray Blatche, and JaVale McGee. Their bench would include Nick Young, Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin, Thornton/Howard, Yi Jianlian, and Hilton Armstrong. The veteran leadership of Hinrich and Anthony would help the development of Wall, and the rest of the younger players. The scoring punch of Wall, Anthony, and Blatche would provide an unstoppable half-court offense, and a running game that few teams could match-up with. This team would win between 50 and 60 games every year over the next four to five years, and be a championship contender within two years. Carmelo grew up less than 50 miles from Washington D.C., in Baltimore, Maryland. This would be a great opportunity to be the hometown hero and bring a championship back to Washington franchise. (The Wizards/Bullets actually used to play in Baltimore before moving to Washington.) As the new owner of the Wizards, Ted Leonsis can become an instant success if he and Grunfeld can manage to bring Anthony to the Wizards.
The Nuggets and Wizards can and should make this trade happen. So what are they waiting for?
