Sports

The great migration to the East Coast

Two blockbuster trades headline NBA as trade deadline approaches

Posted on Feb. 23, 2011, at 11:26 p.m.

It’s finally over.

The season-long “Melodrama” involving the next big free agent, Denver Nuggets star forward Carmelo Anthony, was finally resolved with a three-team trade involving 12 players.

The New York Knicks received the grand prize with Anthony, along with former All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups, point guard Anthony Carter, forward Renaldo Balkman, center Shelden Williams and guard Corey Brewer from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Knicks gutted their team to make this happen, sending to Denver emerging scoring threat forward Wilson Chandler, sharp-shooting forward Danilo Gallinari, point guard Raymond Felton and 7-foot-1-inch center Timofey Mozgov, as well as center Eddy Curry and forward Anthony Randolph to the T’wolves and some picks and cash were thrown towards the Nuggets to make logistics work, as well as T’wolves center Kosta Koufos.

The Knicks have now compiled two very capable parts of their own big three — but have little left to work with afterward.

This is what the Knicks are left with post-Melo trade: A useful, yet aging point guard in Billups, an over-hyped rookie guard in Landry Fields — the one asset that wasn’t traded away — Balkman, who has played in five games this season, 35-year-old journeyman Carter, former Duke lottery pick and bust Williams, end-of-the-bench guard Bill Walker, so-so shooting guard Brewer and energy-guy-off-the-bench center Ronny Turiaf penciled in at starting center.

You thought the Miami Heat’s supporting cast was bad — but at least they managed to form a big three.

If there were a winner in this deal it would have to be the Nuggets, but even that’s a backhanded compliment. They didn’t get nearly the value in return for someone like Anthony, nor did they even get the best deal out there — New Jersey Nets’ young forward Derrick Favors and four first-round picks — but when compared to other recent teams who had a superstar bail, they hit the jackpot.

While the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers are still choking on the dust left behind by stars Chris Bosh and LeBron James as they split for South Beach, the Nuggets compiled a hefty load of young assets and substantial cap relief, saving the organization over $15 million this season.

There have been early talks that the Nuggets aren’t done, with Gallinari drawing interest from the Los Angeles Clippers, and rumors of still working a trade with the Nets, possibly for Mozgov and others.

With reports floating around that Felton could be on the move again, the Nuggets are now looking at extending the contract of their monster in the middle, the Brazilian seven-footer, Nene.

If they’re able to do so, while re-signing Chandler — a restricted free agent this summer — the Nuggets have a solid, young nucleus to work with going forward.

Not to get carried away — it’s not a nucleus that will win any championships anytime soon like that of the Oklahoma City Thunder or Chicago Bulls, but they have plenty of flexibility moving forward.

Gallinari has the ability to be a Dirk Nowitzki-type player if he blossoms to his full potential. Chandler can pass as a poor man’s Melo, and young point guard Ty Lawson is one of the quickest guards in the league with plenty of room to improve.

In a Western Conference that is growing old quickly, it was smart for the Nuggets to basically give up on the rest of this season where there were no hopes of an NBA championship, and to look toward the future and see how things break down after the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.

As for the Knicks? I’m not saying they got hosed. If I’m an Eastern Conference team, the Knickerbockers is not a squad I want to see in the first round.

But moving forward, they once again put themselves behind the eight ball. The new rules under a redesigned CBA are expected to be much tighter, and their pipe dream of adding a third superstar in 2012 seems unlikely unless someone wants to take a pay cut.

With main target Chris Paul up for grabs, it seems farfetched to think the Knicks could grab the franchise point guard.

Another potential 2012 Knicks target, point guard Deron Williams, followed ’Melo to the East Coast, but is joining the other potential Anthony suitor, the New Jersey Nets.

The Nets reverted to a private plan B when they failed to land Anthony and sent Favors, point guard Devin Harris and two first round picks to the Utah Jazz for the star guard.

If they happen to accomplish the impossible and acquire a star point guard such as Paul, while not doing more considerable damage to their future, then they form as formidable a threesome as you can in today’s NBA.

If not? Then the Knicks remain where they have been virtually my entire life: NBA irrelevancy.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011, 11:26 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.