Trade rumors swirl up around Carmelo Anthony
By: Vinay Viswanathan
Opinions Editor
This week, a whirlwind of trade rumors surrounding Carmelo Anthony emerged. Anthony, who currently plays forward for the Denver Nuggets, has been essential to the success of his team over the past seven years. Hence, these trade rumors are even worse for the Nuggets since they depend on him so much.
Since leaving Syracuse University after just one year of college basketball (a year in which he led the Orangemen to win the National Championship), Anthony was a hot prospect in the NBA. After immediately being drafted by the Nuggets, Anthony changed Denver from one of the worst teams in the league to franchise that made the playoffs. NBA Analyst John Schuhmann commented that “without their star, they know they have to completely restructure their roster” (www.nba.com).
Some people wonder why every club wants Carmelo so badly. Junior Bobby Tuttle said that he is a hot prospect because “he can hit a shot from anywhere on the court.” Junior David Claypool articulated that Carmelo Anthony is a hot commodity because he “is big.” Some teams interested in him, such as the New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons, could seriously use a dexterous, quick big man like Carmelo Anthony.
So where will Anthony go? At this time it seems like the obvious choices are the Piston, the Nets, and the New York Knicks. It was reported on January 13th that Amare Stoudemire, the new star franchise player of the Knicks, texted Anthony telling him to head to Manhattan to play for the Knicks rather than to Newark for the Nets. A Stoudemire-Anthony combination could be one of legendary abilities; two able big men could mean one excellent team.
The long term effects of Anthony’ s possible departure from the Nuggets could be hazardous. Since Anthony declined to sign a three-year contract extension last summer, its rather clear that Anthony is, very, likely going to leave Colorado. Al Harrington and Chauncy Billups would be the only star players on the Nuggets if Carmelo Anthony left and would complement old players such as Kenyon Martin, which would mean a shaky future for a post-Anthony Nuggets squad.