The NBA Trade Deadline is about a month away, and with that comes rumors leading up to it. The biggest rumor is Carmelo Anthony to the Nets, sources say it is going to happen sooner than later. What's the big deal about Melo? He can get 30pts a game in his sleep. He along with Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant are effortless scorers and clutch players. A couple things about the situation, Carmelo really wants to play in New York. The Knicks have a solid team, a superstar over there already in Amare, they are a young team with a lot of potential, and it's Madison Square Garden the most legendary arena in the NBA. The Snag is Carmelo would have to wait until after the season to sign there, the money situation would change in the off-season with a new labor agreement in place in which he would make less money than he could at this point. So why not just sign with them right now? He is currently under contract with the Denver Nuggets and the deal doesn't expire until seasons end.
Why don't the Nuggets just trade him to New York? The Knicks don't have enough "assets" to make the trade worthwhile. The Knicks have solid players the best of which available is Danilo Gallineri a sharpshooting small forward in his third year, with a lot of potential. Wilson Chandler who has developed into a solid NBA player and good scorer around 17 per. Other than that it's not much on the roster to ride home about, Landry Fields is also a good player he's a suprising rookie who is averaging double figures and is a New York type of player. In any trade especially for a superstar usually the other team would want back an expiring contract which will give them flexibility to sign a free agent, A first round pick(s), and good young talent that can bloom into something. The Knicks have no draft picks, but they have the other 2. The Nets meanwhile drafted Derrick Favors 4th overall in this past years draft. He hasn't had a great rookie season but he's loaded with potential. The Nets also are under the salary cap so they are cool money wise. The Nets also have first round picks to send over. The Nets are in a better position than the Knicks are. The Nets don't have staying in New Jersey in their favor, they're supposedly moving to Brooklyn in the near future, both of those places don't hold a candle to Madison Square (from what i was told). New Jersey will not trade for Melo and give up future investments if he doesn't agree to sign and extend with them. So It's all up to Carmelo, take the money and hope the owner knows what he's doing and builds around you, or play for less money in the basketball Mecca with another Superstar and be ready to challenge Orlando, Boston, Chicago and Miami for the Eastern Conference. If the Nuggets don't want the LeBron James situation they better move him somewhere and get something for him!
O.J. Mayo
This column will be wayyyyyy shorter because Mayo hasn't improved. I joked that Mayo reached his potential ceiling in College. He is a solid 2-guard but I can see him being a Jimmy Jackson journey man type. Putting up solid numbers everywhere but just not good enough to invest in long term. He wants to play for a contender if he's on his way out, Denver and Chicago have been rumored. I have a feeling he'll be part of the Melo deal and end up on Denver, if he ends up on Denver then you know J.R. Smith will be out of there shortly.
Gerald Wallace
Gerald Wallace is a great player, made the all-star game last year, helped lead them to the playoffs, but the Bobcats organization is broke. He's the highest payed player on the team so he's first to bounce. Rumors are to Cleveland, but I would push for teams like Houston, Chicago, I think he would fit in there nicely. He would be good on Cleveland but they're rebuilding it's going to be a couple years until they contend again.
Steven Jackson
Same situation as Gerald Wallace, I think Chicago would be a great destination. D. Rose, Jackson, Boozer, Noah, Deng. That would be a scary team. I think he would be an upgrade over Richard Jefferson if he went back to San Antonio where he won a championship, Atlanta where he played before. There are a lot of places he could go and put a team over the top.
