Carmelo Anthony for Joakim Noah? Why It Makes Sense for Denver Nuggets
Over the last month, so much gossip about where Carmelo Anthony will be playing in the future has been flung around they might as well change it from being called the rumor mill to the Melo mill.
Friend and fellow superstar Chris Paul tipped off the rumors when he announced at Melo’s wedding that the two should both move to New York to team up with Amar’e Stoudemire on the Knicks.
Then there was word that Anthony, in addition to the Knicks, would like to go to the Rockets or Nets.
Yesterday, Yahoo! Sports’ Mark J. Spears reported that Anthony, “still hopes to persuade the Denver Nuggets to trade him, preferably to either the Chicago Bulls or New York Knicks, an NBA source with knowledge of Anthony’s wishes told Yahoo! Sports.”
What makes an eventual trade even more likely is that the Nuggets new GM Masai Uriji and Anthony Denver+Post%3A+Sports%3A+Nuggets%29skipframe-bleacherreport.com" title="have still not met" target="_blank">have still not met to discuss what Melo would like to do.
The Bulls had allegedly offered veteran small forward Luol Deng, and two second-year forwards—Taj Gibson and James Johnson—in exchange for Anthony. That proposed deal would be somewhat enticing to Denver, as they would get an immediate “replacement” for Anthony (although Deng isn’t close to the player Melo is) and the Nuggets would add young players that could be the future at the three and four positions respectively.
Deng averaged career highs in points and rebounds last season (17.6, 7.3), but adding him as a substitute for Anthony (28.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG) would mean a more than 10 point loss for the Nuggets per game.
Technically Deng is a better rebounder than Anthony, but Melo’s intangibles of being able to take over a game and the aptitude to hit the last second shot outweigh what Deng would bring to Denver.
But, the Nuggets were reportedly uneasy with building a trade around Deng and his contract that has four years and $50 million remaining.
Instead, Denver is looking to finally address the most glaring need in the Mile High City since Dikembe Mutombo left—a true center.
Joakim Noah, the Bulls young and quickly improving center, is more alluring as the center of a deal for Anthony.
Noah greatly improved in 2009-10, upping his points per game by four (6.7-10.7) and progressing his rebounding skills by more than three boards per game (7.6-11.0). In playing just over 30 minutes per game, Noah averaged a double-double for the Bulls last season, production at the center position that’s not seen on a regular basis in today’s NBA.
Noah’s got lots of energy, he is deceptively quick due to his slight body size (6’11” 232 pounds) and he only needs a mere eight shots per game to make a strong impact.
Noah makes the best of his situation nightly, whereas the Nuggets current center Nene gets lost on nights he doesn’t get enough opportunities to score early. Plus, with starting power forward Kenyon Martin on the mend from knee surgery and likely to miss games early, Denver could move Nene back to his natural position, power forward.
But, we’ll come back to potential lineups in a minute.
The Bulls won’t just be offering Noah for Anthony, they would likely have to package Deng as well to make the salaries work. And the Nuggets may even ask for one of the young guys, preferably Gibson, along with a future draft pick.
Denver must work to secure the most that’s possible if they are forced to trade the superstar, be it players, picks, cash or a combination of the three.
If this trade were to go through, the Nuggets new 2010-11 starting lineup could look a little something like this:
C: Joakim Noah, PF: Nene, SF: Luol Deng, SG: Arron Afflalo, PG: Chauncey Billups.
Noah and Nene would give the Nuggets a much needed and improved frontcourt and size to take on bigger teams like the Lakers, but both will be asked to improve their production.
Deng shoots a higher percentage than Melo and will have to score on whatever opportunities he sees, while Billups will be asked to score as much as last season (19.5)—a career high for him. Afflalo would be the wild card, his youth and potential gives him a chance to shine in this lineup.
Al Harrington would move back from starter at power forward to the first backup bigman off the bench, with Chris “Birdman” Andersen coming in after him. Ty Lawson would still backup Billups and Gibson could come in to spell Deng. And with J.R. Smith probable to be traded, the backup shooting guard is still up in the air for Denver.
The Nuggets would be projected to be a worse team scoring-wise, but this trade would be a solid way to begin rebuilding if Denver has to trade Anthony.
Rich Kurtzman is a Colorado State University Alumnus and a freelance journalist. Along with being the Denver Nuggets and Denver Broncos Featured Columnist here on B/R, Kurtzman is the CSU Rams and Fort Collins Beer Bars Examiner for examiner.com and the Colorado/Utah Regional Correspondent for stadiumjourney.com.
