The Bergen Record is reporting that the Nets and Nuggets have reached an agreement on a trade that will land Carmelo Anthony in a nine-player deal that also includes veteran guard Chauncey Billups. The trade, as always, is contingent upon Anthony agreeing to a three-year, $65 million contract extension which, to date, he has been reluctant to do.
A person directly involved in the Anthony trade situation said there is still great skepticism that Anthony will sign off on a deal with the Nets as long as the Knicks are still in the game before the Feb. 24 trade deadline.
A source with knowledge of the situation told Newsday that Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and hip hop star Jay-Z, who owns a minor stake in the team, are looking to meet with Anthony today here in Los Angeles to sell him on making the commitment to the Nets. The source said that Nets ownership wants this immediate meeting to avoid any more media coverage of the drawn-out proceedings between the Nuggets and Nets, who have twice this season seen the plug pulled on a deal that seemed to be done. On Jan. 19, Prokhorov announced that the Nets were no longer pursuing Anthony, but, as Newsday reported last Saturday, the Nuggets reached out to them last week in an attempt to bring them back into the negotiations.
The Nuggets have talked with the Knicks and parameters of a deal have been set, but the Knicks have been hesitant to pull the trigger on a trade at the magnitude that the Nuggets are asking -- with, according to various reports, as many as three starters involved in the deal, including Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov. The Knicks do not want to completely gut their roster and, though Amar'e Stoudemire would love to team up with Anthony, a person close to him said the Knicks all-star also agrees that giving up too many players would be the wrong move at this point.
Another source said the Knicks will not bow out without making at least one more attempt at acquiring Anthony before the trade deadline. Anthony has made it known that going to the Knicks, and teaming up with Stoudemire, are his main priority.
The Daily News reported in Friday's editions that the Knicks were also expected to meet with Anthony here in Los Angeles, but it is unclear why a meeting would need to take place and why the Nuggets would permit a meeting if they had a trade in place with another team.
If a deal can't be reached with the Knicks, the Nets appear to be a very strong fallback option. The Nuggets all along have prefered to deal with the Nets, who reportedly would be giving up rookie Derrick Favors, plus four first round draft picks, in the deal.
Jay-Z is pushing for a meeting with Anthony today because he is hosting his annual "2 Kings" dinner party with LeBron James on Saturday. The two have this event at every all-star weekend.
Media availability for the NBA all-star players is later today at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Anthony is clearly going to have to address the latest rumors, which he has been doing all season long.
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