Knicks Back In Hunt For Melo
Sorry things have been sparse here lately but I’ve been traveling, and now it looks like it’s possible a certain Carmelo Anthony also could travel to the Knicks. A few weeks ago, it seemed like his trade to the Nets was a sure thing. Even after that fell through, many journalistic idiots (like say, me) propagated the unfounded rumor that the Denver Nuggets were bitter with the Knicks and refusing to listen to us. But it turned out, shockingly, that they weren’t running a business worth hundreds of millions of dollars as though they were spiteful five-year olds who when they get mad cover their ears and won’t listen. They just weren’t enamored with the options we offered them. According to ESPN.com, things have now changed:
The offers the Knicks have proposed have always centered around packages including Anthony Randolph, the expiring contract of Eddy Curry and a first-round draft pick they would acquire from a third team, and New York has softened its stance on including forward Danilo Gallinari in a trade.
The most recent obstacle, according to the source, was for the Knicks to use one of those assets, likely Randolph or Gallinari, to acquire a player from a third team that the Nuggets value more highly than either of the Knicks forwards. The source said that obstacle can now be overcome, with the Knicks confident they can get their hands on a player the Nuggets would prefer.
[…] Also, New Jersey has faded from the Anthony sweepstakes, growing disinclined to include rookie Derrick Favors in a trade, a league source told ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande.
I’m kinda surprised by that last bit. It’s not like Favors has torn apart the league with Troy Murphy out, turning himself into an untouchable player. Although maybe part of it is that with Murphy potentially out for a while, it’d leave the Nets with no decent option at power forward. Plus if they include Devin Harris in the deal, it could leave a shell of a team. Combine that with the fact that the team always has low attendance (even in the years Jason Kidd was leading this franchise to the NBA Finals), and Melo could get pretty disgruntled, wanting out before the first year’s done. Right now they’ve got a group who’re all happy to be the types to play their hearts out just to get up to 25-30 wins. I don’t think Melo would be into that.
Anyway, apparently one of the other things that has gotten us back into talks is this:
the rekindling of trade talks two weeks ago coincided with the Nuggets’ hiring of salary-cap specialist Pete D’Alessandro.
Other key bits:
The Knicks would have to part with an additional asset or two to acquire a first-round draft pick to include in any deal with the Nuggets, and one New York player who has increased his value in recent days is backup point guard Toney Douglas, who had 24 points Tuesday against New Jersey after scoring 23 two nights earlier against Washington.
Gallinari and Randolph have both struggled in the preseason. Gallinari followed up his 0-for-7 performance against the Wizards with a 3-for-7 night against the Nets, while Randolph, averaging 11.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in six preseason games, scored 13 points but did not grab a single rebound.
I gotta say that since Gallo was fairly consistent last year, I’m not concerned about his extremely uneven performances. On the other hand, it seems to me like Randolph’s value has plummeted due to his awful performances. Like before the pre-season games began, it seemed like many people thought highly of him, that perhaps we even fleeced the Warriors in acquiring him. However, like a new car that loses half its value as soon as it leaves the dealership, Randolph’s worth has dropped because the possibility of him being a lemon has increased. Recently Coach Mike D’Antoni even said that people had been assuming that Toney’s recent great play at shooting guard could cause swingmen like Bill Walker, Landry Fields and Roger Mason to lose minutes, but instead it’s possible that Wilson Chandler and/or Gallo could move to power forward some and thus cause Randolph to lose minutes.
Of course all this is just rumor-mongering and who knows it any of this will come true. But if someone how Knick President Donnie Walsh can get Melo by acquiring a first-rounder and a decent player from another team for just Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph and Toney Douglas, I say we make him Mayor of New York.