NBA preseason is happening next Sunday, October 3rd, and though of course it doesn't measure up to my countdown to October 26th, the beginning of the regular season, its a good start. Amare Stoudemire and his New York Knicks will be the first NBA team to step onto a court when they play Armani Jeans Milano at 12:30pm (ET) and I can't wait to see what the opener is like.
However, let me not get ahead of myself. There are still stories floating around out there that need to be brought to light, the biggest of which deals with one of my favorite players in the league, Carmelo Anthony.
Over the last couple of months, since the beginning of summer, there have been a handful of speculations as to where he would end up. Sources placed him in an array of cities, from remaining in Denver to returning to his hometown of New York and everywhere in-between. Now as we move into fall, still nothing has been finalized, but the majority of people out there believe he will take place in a four-team trade that will land him in New Jersey.
What is supposedly going to take place is this: New Jersey Nets' rookie Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz player Andrei Kirilenko and two future first-round picks would be sent to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Carmelo Anthony, and Devin Harris of the Nets would be moved to the Charlotte Bobcats who would then send Boris Diaw to the Utah Jazz.
Do I think this trade makes sense? No, not really. Besides Derrick Favors, who even himself is a gamble as you never really know how well a rookie will do in a pro-league despite his numbers in college, I don't consider any of the other players on a high enough level to take part in a Melo trade. Beyond that, I see no appeal in New Jersey. Sure Melo has the ability to basically shape the Nets into being any type of team that he wants as they are more or less rebuilding themselves from the ground up, but that takes work. And time. And at this point in his career it seems as though its Melo's turn to shine and be in the spotlight, not in the director's chair. If the Nets could somehow (or would have been able to earlier) grab another superstar to help Melo out then maybe I'd reconsider my standpoint. But right now, if this is indeed the way things are going to go down, if this is the final trade, its not a good move.
I know what some of you are thinking..."of course she doesn't like this plan, she wants Melo to go to the Bulls", but actually, above all I'd rather have him stay in Denver. I know they've hit some rough patches in the last few seasons, and perhaps some players should consider leaving (J.R. Smith most comes to mind...) but I still believe that had Coach Karl not fallen ill, the Nugs would have made it far into the Playoffs last year. They're a solid franchise with a lot of talent and the combo of Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony has always been a pleasing one.
With that said though, it wouldn't be completely beyond me if Melo wanted to try his talents somewhere else after all this time. Despite me not wanting him to leave Denver, its something that I could understand, that I could deal with. What doesn't make sense to me, and I don't see being good for him is if that somewhere else ends up being New Jersey.
Melo with the Bulls or Melo alongside the Knicks on the other hand I can see...I think its been made clear by now that the Bulls aren't willing to give up Joakim Noah in a trade (and good for them, they shouldn't) but I've also heard rumors of Luol Deng, James Johnson and Taj Gibson potentially being put on the chopping block, all of which may still not be enough on their own but could maybe be the start of something. I mean, at least in this case Chicago as a city, unlike New Jersey, has appeal on its own. And as far as Melo going to the Knicks...well...if I recall correctly, New York was looking for a partner in crime to help out Amare Stoudemire, a position I believe Melo would fill out quite nicely.
As I said, nothing is set in stone, and by tomorrow an entirely different scenario could be on the plate but for now, it seems as though New Jersey is Melo's first choice. I don't know how you all feel about this but I'm crossing my fingers that hes offered a better deal and fast.
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