Carmelo Anthony Trade Rumors: Is Anthony's Game Really Worth All the Fuss?
New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles have all been mentioned as possible destinations for Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, but does his game really merit all the attention?
The NBA world in general and ESPN in particular can't seem to get enough of the Anthony saga, but it seems a little perspective has been lost in the race to predict his landing place.
Anthony is one of the NBA's best pure scorers and the legend he created as a freshman at Syracuse University has followed him throughout his career as a professional.
The common perception is that Anthony resides on the same tier of players such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, but beyond his ability to score, there really are no other distinguishable aspects of his game.
Bryant, James and Wade excel in multiple areas of their games, but Anthony is an average rebounder, an average defender and his leadership skills have been questionable throughout his career.
That's not to say Anthony is an average player, but he is not worth what one of the above-mentioned teams will spend to get him.
ESPN just reported that New Jersey has reached a tentative agreement with Anthony, but the number of players the Nets lose means that they will likely reside near the bottom of the Eastern Conference for seasons to come.
In the deal, New Jersey loses Derrick Favors, Devin Harris and four future first-round draft picks, in addition to a few other players.
Will Anthony, Brook Lopez and Chauncey Billups lead the Nets back to the top of the Eastern Conference?
Anthony will eventually improve the Nets, but he's likely to find the wins a little harder to come by than they were in Denver.
In Denver, Anthony was surrounded by talent the last few seasons, but he could never carry his team to the NBA Finals, and he only managed to reach the Conference Finals once.
This season, the Nuggets are looking up the conference ladder at the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant, who has seized the mantle of the NBA's purest scorer, if Anthony really ever held it.
The Thunder built their team through the draft and when faced with tough decisions, management used good old fashioned common sense.
Whichever team that eventually lands Anthony will probably wish they followed the Thunder's example.
