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During times like these (see this past summer), I like to just open up a thread in which everybody can comment on the day's news and rumors and I can update with new bits of intelligence from the reporters. This'll be that. If you're ignoring this story until it reaches its conclusion, then bless you. If you're following closely, then here's some stuff to look at. Any updates will go atop the older stuff. There's plenty of great discussion going on in the Fanposts as well. Remember to be kind to one another.
Update (4:13): Jonathan Abrams:
Carmelo Anthony is informing those close to him that he will not sign a contract extension if he is traded to the Nets, according to a person aware of Anthony’s preference.
So, that's good. The Knicks' offer should now be just a few Cheez-Its and Kelenna Azubuike.
Carmelo Anthony knew where I was going when I asked the question. It was quite simple and something just about everyone in the league -- even Charles Barkley gets it -- wondered when talking about this ongoing saga.
Why not just tell Denver you will only sign the extension with the one team you want to go to?
"Yeah, I can, but then they have to do what's best for their organization, too," he said. "So at the end of the day, they can say, 'Forget it, we have to take care of our organization . . . We have to do what we have to do'."
I took that to mean he isn't confident that would work because the Nuggets might just keep him rather than trade him or trade him to a team without an extension.
Hahn on Twitter:
If Knicks can somehow keep Gallinari in this deal, as NBAtv says DEN prefers Mozgov/Fields instead, that would be amazing.
Ken Berger on Twitter:
#Nuggets have given indications they want resolution by Sunday, sources say. So does Melo. So does humanity.
In the end, this trade is all about Carmelo Anthony. As I’ve said in the past, I don’t think he’s a great fit for New York. Carmelo is a good isolation scorer, but isn’t a good defender and he’s a career 31.1% three point shooter. None of those seem to fit in with a D’Antoni coached team. Nonetheless, I’m likely in the minority on this issue. North of my view of the spectrum, Anthony is anywhere from a major upgrade over Chandler and Gallinari, to a top 10 player in the league. He is an 25 ppg scorer that can take the load off of Amar’e and can take over the offense in clutch time. And perhaps his arrival could open the door for other stars like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Dwight Howard.
And if Carmelo Anthony is your small forward, Danilo Gallinari is coming off the bench. Again, you don’t hold up a trade for Carmelo Anthony over a player who is going to come off the bench. As for his future, I don’t think Gallinari has the athletic ability to rise to the level of a top-tier NBA player but I do think he’s going to settle into that second tier of scorers who are good for 22 points a game for about ten years. That’s not an easy thing to give up, but Carmelo Anthony is a top-tier player. There are maybe ten guys better than him. You might have reservations, but remember what you thought when the Knicks signed Amar’e. I was skeptical. And how has that worked out? Great.
Stefan Bondy on Twitter:
Mikhail Prokhorov just released statement that he hasn't met with Carmelo and has no plans to meet with him.
I'll update again in a bit. Wanna link y'all to some Howard Beck stuff but my NYT login isn't working.