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NBA source: Carmelo Anthony believed to have signed off on proposed deal to New Jersey Nets

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2010/09/24/2010-09-24_source_nets_in_serious_talks_to_land_carmelo.html?r=sports
The Nets talked big and hung up a big, boastful billboard above the Garden. That didn't work.

But now, without the hype and unpredictability of free agency, they are on the verge of changing the whole basketball landscape.

According to multiple sources with knowledge of a proposed four-team blockbuster, the Nets are negotiating a deal that would bring them Carmelo Anthony from Denver in exchange for Devin Harris, first-round pick Derrick Favors plus draft picks.

There are some small details that could derail the deal, but Anthony is believed to have signed off on the deal, according to an NBA source, and it could happen as early as Saturday. Anthony's approval was pivotal in the deal because the Nets wouldn't have agreed to it for a one-year rental.

On the day both the Knicks and Nets held their media days, it was the area's wannabe star franchise that was making by far the bigger headlines. Two years before its scheduled move to Brooklyn, general manager Billy King appears determined to one-up his counterpart in Manhattan.

The proposed deal - which would also involve the Jazz and Bobcats - would have Favors going back to Denver, along with Utah's Andrei Kirilenko and multiple draft picks from the Nets and Warriors (the Nets hold Golden State's first-round pick in 2012).

Harris would be sent to Charlotte, while Boris Diaw would be shipped from Charlotte to Utah. Other role players are being discussed as part of the complex trade.

According to a source, the Nuggets will make a final effort this weekend to convince Anthony to return after his contract expires next summer. But after Anthony refused to sign a three-year extension that's been on the table since June - and after he turned down an opportunity this month to express any loyalty to the Nuggets in an interview with the News - it's unlikely the three-time All-Star will change his mind.




If the Nuggets fail to successfully woo Anthony, as expected, a deal should materialize quickly. The longer they keep Anthony around, the longer he becomes a distraction and his trade value dips. The Nuggets would rather trade him than end up with nothing. It's a harsh lesson already learned by the Cavaliers, who lost LeBron James for nothing to Miami when he shunned Cleveland, the Knicks, the Nets and a host of other suitors.

The Nets must also worry about teams swooping in with 11th-hour offers. Chicago, a preferred destination for Anthony, could reportedly change everything by offering Joakim Noah to Denver.

The Nets' only untouchable is their young center, Brook Lopez. But they're offering an All-Star point guard (Harris) and the third pick in this year's draft (Favors). Ironically, rumors of the trade began to circulate during Nets' Media Day on Friday, when both Favors and Harris were discussing the team's "bright" future.

King was spotted before the event started, before retreating to his office. He declined to comment. Coach Avery Johnson spoke mostly about his current roster, but offered only an inscrutable response when asked about potential trades.

"Every general manager is always out looking to improve the ball club and that's what they should do," Avery said. "If Billy was sitting up in his office watching political television shows - 'cause I heard he's a politics guy - I'd be very disappointed.

"We have a very strategic game plan," Avery said. "For us to disrupt that plan, it would have to be something that we think we would hit a home run with. And we don't have anything happening like that right now."

Favors said he was given some assurance from Avery about remaining with the franchise, although the coach stopped short of guaranteeing the 19-year-old he wouldn't be traded.

"He didn't tell me that," Favors said. "He just told me not to worry about it."

Anthony has a strong monetary incentive to approve a sign-and-trade deal with another team, because he'd likely earn more money under the current CBA which expires after the season. He also has considerable leverage to choose his next team, simply by indicating his reluctance to play long-term for any given franchise.

Although the Knicks are his preferred destination, the Nets are close enough to NewYork to appease many of Anthony's perceived desires



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