Carmelo Anthony Trade Rumors: Will He Ever Leave Denver?

Two weeks. That's all the time there is until the NBA Trade Deadline. While teams around the NBA have their ideas of who they want to reel in, there's one player who stands out to all basketball fans.

Carmelo Anthony.

The trade rumors and speculations are getting to be as big as those of LeBron James just a couple of months ago. 

First, there was talk that he would go to the New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris and a bunch of other notable players. Also included in this trade would be the Detroit Pistons, with all three teams sending players all over.

The New York Knicks were the next team to hunt for Melo. The acquisition of Anthony could potentially help the Knicks crack the top five in the Eastern Conference.

As of late the Los Angeles Lakers have put themselves out on the market for Anthony. 

Anthony had been offered a three-year, $64 million contract extension at the beginning of the summer that had been pushed to the back of his filing cabinets as all these new "rumored" offers have been coming his way.

Recently, Melo has taken a second look at the contract. Now, the extension is going to factor into Anthony deciding what's next.

Like any other NBA player, Anthony wants an NBA championship, and he's afraid that if he stays in Denver any longer he may not get one.

If the contract extension that Denver offered him had been a one- or two-year contract, Anthony might have been more open about taking up the offer—meaning less time in Denver and a better chance of getting out and getting a championship. 

Factored into this is also the possibility of his teammates moving around the NBA and leaving him alone in Denver. Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith will both become free agents at the end of the season.

Unless any team tries to come up with a fair trade idea for both Denver and themselves (and possibly a third team), Anthony won't be leaving Denver.

If he was really worried about staying in Denver, he would make the claim about wanting to get out of Denver more urgent. 

Expect for there to be a lot more talk and mock trades in the next week as the trade deadline will come closer and closer.