FanShot

Nuggets look to give it one last gasp before trading Anthony

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This piece is by Broussard, whom seems to carry more respect around here than a lot of other journalists, and rightly so. Here are some of the more important quotes I found in this piece, followed by short commentary: "Portland is one of many clubs that could wind up in a three-or four-team deal featuring Denver and New Jersey involving Carmelo Anthony. Of the Blazers' players, Nicolas Batum is the one most coveted by the Nuggets." Me likey. Batum looked nasty tonight and would definitely be a great fit for us going forward. I really hope he gets included in any deal at this point in time, but that's likely only going to happen if we deal with NJ. "Once Carmelo Anthony returns to the lineup, the Nuggets plan to give the club -- which is healthier than it's been all season with the return of Kenyon Martin -- a few weeks to play together and gel. They will then approach Anthony one last time about signing the three-year, $64 million extension that they’ve had on the table all season. If Anthony balks, which is a certainty, Denver will increase its efforts to move him." This is kind of what we all expected. Broussard put it bluntly, saying Melo will tell the team he wants out - and we really have no reason to think otherwise - but it should be interesting seeing what happens if we really go on a run. "Denver is trying to put Al Harrington and his five-year, $33 million deal into any trade it makes for Anthony." Well, I don't know what to say. It was nice having Big Al here while it lasted, but it shows that we're not impressed with his play as originally thought and that our new front office is basically admitting the old front office made a mistake with his contract.