Saw this article in the Denver Post. Tried linking it on another forum but lo and behold it got take down 3 minutes later. Anyways had the tab open and here it is:
Melo's tenure might be at an end
The forward's status in Denver might best be told by the half-price offers on his jerseys at the Pepsi Center.
By Benjamin Hochman
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/15/2011 09:59:08 PM MST
The explanation given at the Pepsi Center gift shops was "an excess of inventory," but it was a harbinger if there ever was one — Carmelo Anthony jerseys, 50 percent off.
It's quite possible that Melo played his last game at the Pepsi Center on Saturday night. No, Anthony has not officially said he would agree to a trade to New Jersey. But all this could happen within the week; Denver plays at San Antonio tonight and then comes back home Wednesday.
The plan remains for the Nuggets to cook up the deal, likely to the Nets, and present it to Anthony, who Saturday spoke about the Nuggets . . . and his future elsewhere.
Asked Saturday what it would take for him to sign a three-year extension, with any team, Melo said: "I got to feel like I have a chance of reaching my ultimate goal of a championship. Going to a bigger market is cool, but if I feel like I have a chance of winning a championship here in Denver in the next five years, then I'd sign the extension."
And, of course, he has not signed the extension. As for the three-year, $65 million contract extension — in an extend-and-trade — it's imperative. This gets Anthony the money he wants and gets Denver the most assets possible from the trade partner, which knows it would have Anthony secured for at least three years.
It's quite possible that Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups would be involved in the three-team trade to New Jersey, which would give Denver rookie Derrick Favors, sharpshooter Anthony Morrow, point guard Devin Harris, a couple of first-rounders and some throw-in players.
"Having Chauncey would help my chances (in winning a championship)," Anthony said Saturday. "Me and Chauncey, we talk about bringing a championship (to Denver). I don't just go out there to just play basketball, just to do it. Winning is on my mind.
"I want to see that parade go down Colfax and Speer. That was my dream. If I feel like I can't do that here, then I don't think this is the right thing to do."
The key word, of course, is "was" — as in, "that was my dream."
"It's just uncertainty in the future of the (Nuggets) organization," said Anthony, who is currently second in the Western Conference all-star voting for forwards. "A lot of things come into play — contracts and not knowing what's going to happen in the future. I'm going into my ninth season. I don't have time to waste. I want to see the light at the end of the tunnel in my future, and that light is a championship."
One wonders if the proposed contingency in New Jersey — Anthony, Billups, current Nets center Brook Lopez and Detroit's Richard Hamilton — could win said championship. But remember that Anthony's buddy Chris Paul, who is also represented by Anthony's agent Leon Rose, could be a free agent after next season.
Saturday, Melo seemed a little miffed about an ESPN feature that ran Friday. He told the network that his "ultimate dream" would be to play in New York. (All along, the Knicks have been his desired destination, though the Nets are moving to Brooklyn in 2012).
"After the whole interview I did, 20 minutes, the only thing that gets out — I said that it's anybody's ultimate dream to go back home and play," explained Anthony, who lived in New York until he was 9, then moved to Baltimore. "If anybody told you they didn't want to do that, they'd be lying to you. That's somebody's ultimate dream. Chauncey, his ultimate dream was to come back here and play in Denver."
He said the occasional boos at the Pepsi Center "come from conversations in barbershops or somewhere. They see that on ESPN, my ultimate dream is to go to New York, and they say, 'Oh, Melo wants to leave, Melo doesn't like Denver, Melo hates us' — and that's never the fact.
"We've had multiple division titles, went to the Western Conference finals, never missed a playoffs — there's been a lot of success. People live in the now, though."
And right now, whether it was a jersey, T-shirt or youth jerseys, most Melo gear at the Pepsi Center has been marked down, while gear featuring other Denver players remained at full price.
"My ultimate goal at the end of the day is to win a championship, whether I feel I can do that here or go somewhere else," Anthony said. "At the end of the day, you have to make that decision of what's best for you and your career. Right now, whatever decision I make will be what's best for me. . . . Still, I have a chance to win a championship and make less money, I don't have a problem with that."