The Denver Nuggets Were Smart Not to Trade Carmelo Anthony: 5 Reasons Why
Carmelo Anthony has been the talk of the town—actually, the country—over the last month plus.
Rumors coming from unnamed sources fill and fuel columns, and speculation has been the flavor of the month surrounding Melo.
Few things about the superstar’s situation are surely known; if he leaves, he’d like it to be to New York or Chicago, and would have taken New Jersey if the Nuggets would have pulled the trigger on the massive four-team trade last weekend.
And while it seems seldom that a team would back away after a trade was in place, it was an intelligent move by Denver not to move Melo to the Nets. Here are a few reasons why.
Derrick Favors Has Yet to Step on an NBA Hardwood
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The Nuggets made it clear that they would think about trading Anthony, but only if they receive the right package deal.
Denver wants an expiring contract to free up space, draft pick(s) and a young marketable player.
Is Favors marketable? How many bigs in the Association are?
Shaq, KG, D. Howard, and Tim Duncan—and the list basically ends there. From that standpoint, it’s a slim chance the Nuggets could sell tickets and jerseys based on Favors alone.
But the bigger question mark is whether or not Favors will amount to anything in the NBA. Playing a big position is the biggest transition a college basketballer could make, and many busts come from the center/forward positions.
What if he’s not any good for a few years, or ever?
New Nets head coach Avery Johnson is comparing Favors to a young Garnett or Duncan. But is that just his attempt at a sales pitch, or his actual thoughts?
Andrei Kirilenko Is Hated in Denver, Not Great All-Around
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The Nuggets don’t have many rivals, but the chief one geographically and divisionally is certainly the Utah Jazz.
Kirilenko has been a thorn in the side of Denver for years, able to shoot well with size. But he’s also a soft defender and takes the ball to the hoop weakly.
Yes, AK47 has only one year remaining on his current contract, meaning the Nuggets could free up cap space in 2011. But his $17 million owed for this year would kill Denver’s payroll in the short term.
The Deal Would Have Increased the Salary Camp Hit
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As was hinted to in the last slide, bringing in Kirilenko (who makes as much this year as Melo) would have put the Nuggets in a position to pay $9.6 million to the NBA due to the luxury tax.
For far too long, the Nuggets have been handcuffed by huge contracts (see Kenyon Martin, Nene deals), and they are finally coming close to having spending money for free agents.
Denver and Stan “The Man” Kroenke tried overpaying for a championship to no avail. It’s time to dump some of the salary and use it on new, younger players.
The Nuggets Are Still Hopeful to Keep Carmelo Anthony
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This may seem like a stretch, but there are still many in Denver (some in the front office) that hope to retain Melo’s services.
Masai Ujiri doesn’t want his first move as vice president of basketball operations to be trading away the only superstar Denver has seen in 20 years, and the two did have a meeting (although neither will divulge what was said).
Yes, trading Melo (especially now with so many contracts ending in 2011) would be a head start in the rebuilding process, but they could keep Anthony and bring in other pieces to compliment him as well.
Martin, J.R. Smith, Arron Afflalo, and Nene (Player Option) could all be gone in 2011, leaving a whole heaping load of cash to throw around next summer. Or they could bring in talent through trades (something that could lure Melo to stay as well).
Anthony said his options are open—he wants to see what the front office does. The time for trades is now if the Nuggets want the chance to keep Carmelo Anthony.
The Nuggets Can Get a Better Deal
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Overall, it seems as if the Nuggets didn’t deal Melo because they believe they can get better compensation.
Favors, a temporary salary hit that would turn salary dump and two first-round picks would have been a good, but not great, return for a top-10 player in the NBA.
Better than gambling on a rookie straight out of college would be getting an NBA player, someone that would be entering his second or third season in 2010.
Eric Gordon, the second-year shooting guard on the Clippers, would be a superb addition, plus it would make trading J.R. Smith even easier.
Gordon didn’t play much in 2009, only 14 games overall, but he averaged a solid 14.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG, and really stepped his game up this summer for Team USA in the FIBA World Championships.
If not Gordon, Stephen Curry has also been mentioned as a player that Denver has much interest in. Curry was pure magic in his rookie season last year, scoring 17.5 points per game while dishing 5.9 assists per and he even grabbed 4.5 rebounds per.
Curry played most of last season at point guard, but it would be likely that George Karl would move him to shooting guard to pair him with either Chauncey Billups or Ty Lawson—making Denver’s the most explosive backcourt in the NBA.
Other options are out there, including the 76ers’ Andre Iguodala, but that deal could have already been made if the Nuggets’ front office wanted him.
Will The Nuggets Still Make a Deal?
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In all, there were reportedly 20 teams in contact with Denver over the last couple of weeks, so there have to be a multitude of offers that the Nuggets are mulling over currently.
Exactly who Denver wants, or what kind of perfect deal they’re expecting, only they know. But if they want the best possible deal, a trade must come sooner rather than later, as teams will know they have to trade Anthony as the deadline comes closer in February.
But, a week after the Nuggets-Nets-Jazz-Bobcats deal almost happened, it’s easy to see that the Nuggets were intelligent not to make the trade. Whether or not the newly-formed front office continues to look smart will have to be seen in the near future.
And that’s the most important thing they must remember at this most major crossroads in a decade and a half. The future of the franchise is in the front office’s hands.
Hopefully Ujiri, Stan’s son Josh Kroenke (President and Governor) and Bret Bearup (Advisor) can work some Mile High magic, pull off some trades, possibly keep Melo and continue to put a winning product on the Pepsi Center floor.
Rich Kurtzman is a Colorado State University Alumnus and a freelance journalist. Along with being the Denver Nuggets and a Denver Broncos Featured Columnist for bleacherreport.com, Kurtzman is the CSU Rams and Fort Collins Beer Bars Examiner and the Colorado/Utah Regional Correspondent for stadiumjourney.com.
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