Carmelo Anthony Trade Rumors: Can O.J. Mayo Thrive in Denver?

In two words, probably not.

The Denver Nuggets are really in a tough spot here—they have a very talented team lead by their star Carmelo Anthony, who wants play elsewhere. He saw how much fun his NBA mates had last summer during the biggest NBA free agency period of its history, and now he wants to have fun, too.

Problem is, he won't get the chance to be a free agent with a possible NBA lockout looming. To ensure that he gets the most money possible, he is going to have to sign an extension soon or risk losing millions by becoming a free agent in the summer.

Essentially, he is going to miss out on being a true free agent, so right now, he is a de facto free agent. Since Anthony rejected a maximum contract extension from the Nuggets, Denver has been holding out hope that he would change his mind while they shift through possible trades to deal him rather lose him for nothing in the summer.  

The hottest rumor—and the only one that really makes sense for the Nuggets—has been the New Jersey Nets acquiring Carmelo for Derrick Favors and change. No matter what the Nuggets get back for trading Anthony, they will never be able to get back fair value for him.

This has the Kevin Garnett trade heist to the Celtics written all over it. The Celtics got an NBA championship out of the deal, and the Minnesota Timberwolves just received two first-round picks and Kosta Koufus for Al Jefferson.

Suddenly, Derrick Favors is sounding really good.

But rumors are just that—rumors.

Another rumor has O.J. Mayo as the headline player in a deal that would send Carmelo to the New York Knicks. No one knows how rumors like this start—did someone overhear a joke like a hypothetical deal involving Mayo for Anthony and run with it? Did the Memphis Grizzlies start this rumor so they could unload him? Did someone say the Nuggets should get at least a sandwich rather than lose Anthony for nothing and that’s how Mayo’s name came up?

Or did Mayo’s camp start it so that he would be dealt to the Knicks and somehow ended up staying there?

Mayo said he would like to go to the Knicks. Who wouldn’t? Look what happened to Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, even Landry Fields. I think even Adam Morrison could put up decent numbers in that system.

Mayo’s name has been linked to Denver and for a trade to happen, the Knicks have to hold out hope that Carmelo just refuses to sign with anyone else but them, which would force the Nuggets to trade him to the Knicks. Our latest rumor has Mayo as a piece that the Nuggets would get back in a deal involving the Knicks.

Mayo is a very talented player who was the third overall pick just three years ago. But his third year in the NBA is going about as well as the third "Meet the Parents" movie.

I don’t think anyone really knows what is going on with him this year. A dispute with head coach Lionel Hollins has Mayo coming off the bench for the first time in his life and he is not responding well. Maybe the losing is getting to him.

Maybe he doesn’t like his teammates (Tony Allen) or he just doesn’t like playing in Memphis. Whatever it is, a change of scenery can only do him good. Can it get any worse than a two-point 1-of-10 shooting night in 26 minutes?

I guess, only if he missed every shot he took.

There is really nothing O.J. Mayo can’t do on the court—he can score, rebound, defend. The only real problem in his game right now (other then his dreadful shooting percentage) is getting on the court. You can argue than no other player in the NBA outside of injuries has had a tougher year. He’s gotten so far into his coach’s doghouse that Allen is starting over him, not to mention having Allen use his face as a speed bag.

Mayo has shown flashes that he may be able to thrive elsewhere. Any team just has to look at how Michael Beasley, who was drafted one pick ahead of Mayo in the 2008 NBA draft, started to turn his career around as soon has he was dealt. Sure, he still looks like he's half asleep on the floor, but you can’t dispute the numbers he's put up so far.

Also, Beasley went to a team that had a player (Kevin Love) at the same position and is still making it work, which is what Mayo would have to do since he and Denver's J.R. Smith are eerily similar.

If Denver’s only option were to acquire Mayo in any deal, they could make it work. If he can receive consistent minutes, Denver may be the place for him, although that could be tough since J.R. Smith and Arron Affalo are there already.

Remember all that talk when Mayo was entering the league that he was a combo guard and that he can play point guard? Denver could try him out there with Smith at shooting guard, which could present matchup problems for a lot of teams, especially as a second unit.

A backcourt of J.R Smith, Mayo, Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo is pretty talented and may just be crazy enough to work. However, if acquiring Mayo meant that Denver would trade Smith, how could a fresh start for both of those guys hurt?

The latest reports, however, have O.J. Mayo saying that he has no interest in joining the Denver Nuggets and that the Nuggets have even less interest than that.

Not the makings of a blockbuster deal.

In J.R. Smith, the Nuggets already have a talented shooting guard with a bad attitude and who doesn’t play to his potential. Why add another one? Here are their numbers in the season thus far:

O.J. Mayo: FG 40.7%, PPG 12.7, APG 1.9, RPG 2.7, FT% 75.6

J.R. Smith: FG 40.4%, PPG 11.9, APG 2.0, RPG 4.2, FT% 76.8

Their career numbers are like trying to tell any song by Ke$ha apart.

If Smith was that big of a problem for Denver, wouldn’t he have been sent packing by now? And if they were to consider acquiring Mayo so that they could deal Smith, think of this…

Between Mayo and Smith, if I were to tell you that one of these players made seven three-pointers and had two electrifying dunks that rallied the crowd and their team to a win, who would you think that player would be?

J.R. Smith.

Now add the fact that both players are just as likely to get into a fight with a teammate/coach/fan/card dealer. How would trading your franchise's best player in years in a package for Mayo—who is most like the player you don’t really like and that is already on your team—be a good move? Based on Mayo’s potential?

Mayo has been in the league four less years than Smith, but for all we know Mayo peaked in the eighth grade. Remember all those stories about an eighth-grader who blew by 14-year-olds and then a couple years later was proclaimed the next LeBron James? Has he once, even for two minutes, ever resembled anything close James on the court? He could have been exactly as good as he is now, but playing against high schoolers, no one thought he was No. 1 coming out of 12^th grade.

The Nuggets are going to have to settle on something, but Mayo does not seem like the answer.

He shouldn’t really even be an option for the Nuggets and it sounds like he’s not.

The Nuggets have a superstar who wants out. They need to unload him soon or risk playing out the year with him, losing to the Lakers in the playoffs and watching Carmelo walk away while getting nothing in return—all while becoming the Cavs of the West. It looks like a trade to the Nets is their best option and they’ll gamble that Derrick Favors pans out, or they can watch J.R. Smith and Mayo shoot a combined 42 percent on 45 attempts per game.

I’d rather trade Anthony for that sandwich.