Melo-Drama. Disaster in D-Town. The Last Stand of Carmelo Anthony. Any clever pun that ESPN can come up with will never describe the suffering of fans in Denver this season.
This summer, Nuggets fans learned that the team would look to trade Anthony. This not only sparked an eruption of criticism, but a change in Denver sports forever.
When Anthony was drafted 3rd overall in the 2003 NBA draft, fans thought that the Nuggets had found their next great franchise player. The next David Thompson. The next Alex English. Early on in his career, Anthony was poised to turn around one of the worst franchises of the past decade. In fact, he has led the Nuggets to a playoff berth each of his first seven season. This leaves each and every Nuggets fan wondering...
Why leave now?
Although Carmelo has kept his feelings on this trade relatively contained, everybody knows that he wants to be in New York. Well, that was until today when trade talks involving Carmelo and the Los Angeles Lakers surfaced. The Los Angeles Lakers. The most dominant team of the past decade. The deal would send Andrew Bynum to Denver, while Carmelo would join Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and the Lakers.
Let me be the first to say this. Are you kidding me?! This would be like giving Bill Gates a $100,000 donation in exchange for a copy of Windows 7. Like giving Superman a high five in exchange for a punch to the groin. The Nuggets have already dealt with a significant amount of injuries this season, adding Bynum would only risk more of the same. As for the Lakers, talk about the rich getting richer. Teams would be forced to double team either Kobe or Carmelo, leaving the other open to dominate their opponent, who would be mismatched by default.
The Nuggets need to rebuild. The deal with the Knicks would give Denver a great young talent in Wilson Chandler, as well as a top-10 draft pick for 2011 from the Timberwolves. Players like Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin aren’t going to be around for much longer, and the three team trade between the Nuggets, Knicks, and Timberwolves would give Denver the best chance possible to rebuild. In addition, Denver would be giving up any chance to win the Western Conference in the next few years with this deal. The Lakers would be the Miami Heat of the Western Conference.
And let’s face it, nobody likes the Heat.
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