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Rumors: Is Denver Melo on Anthony?

By Chad Ford

NBA Insider

Send an Email to Chad Ford Tuesday, May 27

Updated: May 27

9:44 AM ET

By now we know the Cavs will select LeBron James with the first pick in the NBA Draft and the Pistons will select Darko Milicic at No. 2. That means the Nuggets will select Carmelo Anthony with the third pick, right?

Umm ... let's not get ahead of ourselves. James is a godsend to Cleveland in every way imaginable. Darko eventually will give the Pistons the low-post scorer they've coveted for years. Both players are obvious fits, and both teams have been high on them for months. In other words, don't expect the Cavs or Pistons to trade these guys away, unless names like Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant are thrown around.

The Nuggets, on the other hand, have a mini-dilemma at No. 3. They like Carmelo. They think he's definitely the best player left on the board. It's just that he isn't James or Milicic (both are rated much higher on the draft board), and he's not an ideal fit in their system. The Nuggets already have two young small forwards for whom they have high hopes, Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Rodney White. Although Carmelo may have more upside, and certainly more star power, with so many other holes on the Nuggets, it isn't a slam dunk he'll land in Denver.

That poses an interesting dilemma for Kiki Vandeweghe & Co. Do they take Carmelo, like everyone expects, or do they listen to trade offers for him? Several teams later in the lottery are much higher on Carmelo and might be willing to offer a lottery pick and a young star in return.

Who's interested? Try just about everyone who missed out on one of the top three spots of the lottery. The Raptors, Heat, Bulls, Wizards, Grizzlies and the T-Wolves appear to be the most eager players if a Carmelo sweepstakes develops.

Could the Nuggets actually make out better by trading away the chance to land Anthony?

In most circumstances, the answer is no. The Raptors have little to offer, unless they're ready to dump Vince Carter (they aren't). The Heat are in the same position, unless they're willing to jettison Caron Butler (they aren't, either). And the T-Wolves probably would love to find a way to swap Wally Szczerbiak for Anthony, but with Szczerbiak's new extension kicking in this year, forget about it.

The Bulls, Wizards and Grizzlies, on the other hand, have some interesting assets to offer.

We start with the Bulls because frankly, they have the most ammunition. Would an offer of Jay Williams or Jamal Crawford and the No. 7 pick pique the Nuggets' interest? Denver is very high on French two guard Mickael Pietrus. In one swoop, the Nuggets could give their backcourt a major, major upgrade. If you're the Bulls, the trade makes a lot of sense. They need to thin out their backcourt, and they really need a versatile small forward.

Losing Williams or Crawford (sources say new GM John Paxson is higher on Crawford) won't be the end of the world, and there isn't another small forward available at No. 7 with nearly the upside of Carmelo. They've been drafting in the lottery for the past five years, but they've never been able to land an elite talent like Carmelo ... until now?

The Wizards don't have as much ammunition, but they do have a former No. 1 pick and the No. 10 pick in this year's lottery. If the team continues to clear house post-MJ, expect it to at least entertain the idea of trading Kwame Brown. If Brown is really as good as some people in the league think, it could be hard for Kiki to pass up the chance to grab another 7-footer and a lottery pick. Pietrus could still be on the board (though the Bulls are high on him) at No. 10. Add Gilbert Arenas to the mix, and the Nuggets are rolling again.

Jerry West has been very vocal about his feeling that Anthony, not Darko, should be the No. 2 pick. Is he willing to put his roster where his mouth is? Kiki wouldn't pass on the chance to swap the No. 3 pick for Pau Gasol. Just exactly how much does Mr. West actually like Anthony? It's food for thought.

More trade talk

The Nuggets aren't the only ones willing to trade out for the right price.

Heat president Pat Riley already has begun working up scenarios to trade the Heat's No. 5 draft pick, according to one NBA source. Now that he knows he can't nab one of the top three players, he's willing to ship out No. 5 in return for a veteran who can help his team win now. The rumors he wants Hawks forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim have been floating around for weeks. However, the Hawks actually would have to take Eddie Jones or Brian Grant off the Heat's hands to do that deal. I'm not sure how that makes either team that much better.

The Bulls aren't happy at No. 7. If they can't move up and land Anthony, they'd be willing to move out, if they could land a veteran small forward in return. Given the amount of talent the Bulls can deal, our guess is someone will work with them. Shane Battier isn't a veteran, but the Bulls were interested in him this summer. Is he, along with the Grizzlies' No. 27 pick, worth the Bulls' No. 7 pick? If the Bulls want to win now, the answer might be yes.

If Texas point guard T. J. Ford isn't going to fall to No. 8 (it looks like Toronto likes him at No. 4 and the Clippers would snatch him up at No. 6) don't be shocked if the Bucks try to trade that pick (obtained from Atlanta in the Glenn Robinson trade). They aren't nearly as high on the other top point guards in the draft and want to shore up that position early in case Gary Payton decides to bolt.

If Knicks GM Scott Layden is confident Chris Kaman won't be on the board at No. 9, he, too, will try to trade out of this year's draft. There isn't anyone else out there who can really help the Knicks. Reports they're high on Mike Sweetney or Sofaklis Schortsanitis are a bit silly. Given the abundance of power forwards (many of them undersized) already on their roster (Antonio McDyess, Kurt Thomas, Clarence Weatherspoon and Othella Harrington to name four), exactly how is Sweetney or the 17-year-old Schortsanitis supposed to help Layden reach his stated goal of making the playoffs next year?

The Magic know they'll probably need to be drafting higher than No. 15 to get the guy they're after, Marquette's Dwyane Wade. But what do they have to offer? With most of their players hitting the free-agent market this summer; Doc Rivers can't afford to dump anyone, unless someone's willing to take Pat Garrity or Grant Hill off his hands.

More draft rumblings

Several top European prospects are expected to arrive in the U.S. this week to begin workouts. Yugoslavia's Alexsandar Pavlovic and Slavko Vranes arrived in New York this weekend to begin working out with Darko Milicic. They'll start individual workouts next week. Spain's Maciej Lampe will also be here soon. His team, Universidad Complutense, was eliminated this weekend. Lampe played well in the series, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds. He'll arrive in Chicago this week and begin training with Tim Grover at Hoops Gym.

Several top draft prospects, including Dwyane Wade and Leandrinho Barbosa, are earning early draft buzz. Wade got rave reviews for a workout in Chicago on Friday. "He's got an unbelievable first step," one Bulls source told Insider. However, the Bulls are looking for a wing player who can shoot the ball, and Wade really meets neither description. The day before Barbosa came in and impressed Bulls brass with what the same Bulls source called "amazing athleticism." Barbosa also worked out in Milwaukee to strong reviews. "He's very long and active," a Bucks source told Insider. "He's got the chance to be really good; I'm just not sure how long it will take."

BYU's Travis Hansen has been working out alongside Duke's Dahntay Jones. Hansen is considered the more complete player, but Jones may be the best athlete in the draft. So how did the two stack up in workouts? "Jones is an amazing athlete," one NBA team told Insider, "but what amazed us is how well Hansen hung with him. I'll be shocked if Hansen isn't drafted in the first round. Jones may be too. They're both playing really well."

With that little prediction, we'll have to increase the number of first-rounders to 50 to get everyone in. The most interesting was the Charlotte Observer, which wrote a piece marveling over why Josh Howard isn't a mid-first-rounder. The story blamed the Internet (when in doubt ...) for Howard's slip.

As the coaching carousel turns

With Larry Brown's resignation on Monday, there are now seven (Hawks, Cavs, Rockets, Clippers, Hornets, Sixers and Raptors) coaching positions open. If the Wizards fire Doug Collins as expected, that will make eight.

I think a lot of us assumed that Brown would kick back and retire for a while. But now I keep hearing that he could be heading back to the Clippers. Meanwhile, Jeff Van Gundy is dating both the Rockets and Cavs. And Paul Silas is standing around waiting to see where Brown and Van Gundy end up.

In a perfect world, here is how the NBA coaching carousel should look when it finally stops spinning:

Larry Brown: Clippers. It makes sense folks. He's one of the few coaches who has a great relationship with Donald Sterling. With Brown taking the reigns, Sterling might feel more comfortable about actually signing a guy or two. Brown's greatest achievement could be turning around a Clippers squad with all of the talent in the world, but no clue how to put it all together.

Jeff Van Gundy: Rockets. He'd be crazy not to take this job. With Steve Francis, Yao Ming and young players like Eddie Griffin and Bostjan Nachbar already in place, the team has nowhere to go but up. A little Van Gundy discipline is all they need to be a playoff contender.

Paul Silas: Cavs. The Cavs need a good coach, and Silas is the best coach on the board. Players love him, because he's nurturing. But he's also strict enough to keep them in line. He'll have to be patient with this squad, but there could be some serious rewards.

Maurice Cheeks: Sixers. He'd bolt the Portland madhouse in a second to get a chance to coach back home.

Eddie Jordan: Raptors. Jordan knows a thing or two about coaching great point guards. If the Raptors take T. J. Ford as expected, they should be ready to roll right back into the playoffs.

Doug Collins: Blazers. I know it's a long shot, but I'd love to see it, wouldn't you? Doug crying his eyes out over the dead-head Blazers every night makes great copy. Don't go into the light Doug. Stay away from the light.

Tim Floyd: Hornets. I believe in second chances. The fact he didn't hang himself in Chicago is a plus. The Hornets are a good team. With the right coach, they'll stay that way.

Mike Dunleavy: Wizards. He has to resurface somewhere, doesn't he?

***What about the Hawks? I mean honestly***

New Jersey remains beast of the East

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Tuesday, May 27

Updated: May 27

11:02 AM ET

Former Laker guard and current New Jersey Nets head coach Byron Scott is preparing his team for the upcoming NBA Finals and, after being the first Eastern Conference representative to make a repeat appearance in the Championship Series in six years, he's got to have one question begging to be asked.

Where's Dyan Cannon?

"I've been in that environment as a player, when we'd go out for layups and you'd watch the other team come out and you'd look at them and see how they're looking around, and you'd say, 'We've got 'em,' " he said in the NY Times. "I saw that going in that day, and I said, 'We're in trouble.' Our guys are looking around the stadium. They're looking at the Laker girls. They're looking at Jack Nicholson, and I said, 'We're in trouble.' "But this year, we went to Boston. The crowd is crazy, obviously, and I looked at our guys and they were just focused. That didn't faze them, and that just showed me that we've come a long way. (The Spurs) are a great team, there's no doubt about that. But do we feel that we have a great chance against them if they get there? Of course we do."

The New Jersey Nets are back in the NBA Finals after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers last year knowing full well that winning the Eastern Conference, winning 10 playoff games in a row, winning when others before them have been simply happy to be there, doesn't happen by accident.

"That one-hit wonder stuff is gone." Scott said in the NY Post. "We have something special here. We're just going to try to keep building on it."

The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers met in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals and in the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks winning the first time but losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the finals and the Pacers winning the second time but losing to the Lakers in the Finals.

Since then, no other Eastern Conference Finals team has even made it beyond the conference semifinal series until the New Jersey Nets did it this year. Three of those six teams were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the following year. One of them didn't even make the playoffs the following year. Another hasn't made the playoffs the last two years.

For years now, the Eastern Conference has been ridiculed as the weaker league and this recent playoff futility has been the end result.

The 2000 Knicks are in the lottery for the second year in a row. The 2000 Pacer team hasn't made it out of the first round since then, the current version, with a new leading scorer, leading rebounder, leading passer and head coach, was upset by the lower-seeded Celtics this season. The 2001 Milwaukee Bucks are without Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen. The 2001 Philadelphia Sixers just watched their head coach resign yesterday. The 2002 Boston Celtics seemed ready to trade Antoine Walker before the Nets could sweep them out of the playoffs this year.

In fact, every single Eastern Conference Finals team since 2000 has gone on to win fewer regular season games the following season, including this year's Nets.

But that's where the similarities between this year's Nets and former Eastern Conference champs ends.

The New Jersey Nets are in the first Eastern Conference team to return to the NBA Finals since the Chicago Bulls run of three NBA Titles ended in 1998 and no longer are willing to play the sacrificial role to the Western Conference champ.

"We have much more focus this year than we did last year," Richard Jefferson said in the Bergen County Record. "We have unfinished business and we're going in there with another type of focus."

He isn't the only one.

Martin

"It started last year in the Finals in Game 4," Kenyon Martin said in Newark Star-Ledger. "It let me know what I could do in this league in a pressure situation. This year, I've been trying to go out every day with that attitude I had in Game 4."

And it doesn't stop in the locker room.

"To do something two years in a row validates what you did the first time," said Net GM Rod Thorn in Newsday.

Two teams made it to the NBA Finals last year, and no one really thought that, if only one of them was to return, it wouldn't be the three-time defending champs and the New Jersey Nets are not letting the significance pass unnoticed.

"This doesn't happen too often where you get to go to the finals two straight years; you got to try to take advantage of it," Scott said in NY Times. "We don't want to be the team that gets there a couple of times and all of a sudden you're never heard from again."

Scott, Planning Ahead, Sees Spurs-Nets Finals

Steve Popper / New York Times

Nets Have Eyes On Final Prize

Fred Kerber / New York Post

Nets Can Win It All

Barbara Barker / Newsday

Nets Thirst for Bigger Title

Liz Robbins / New York Times

Martin's winning attitude result of defeat in Finals

Brad Parks / Newark Star-Ledger

Nets like chances this time

Steve Adamek / Bergen Record

Peep Show

By Chad Ford

NBA Insider

Send an Email to Chad Ford Tuesday, May 27

Updated: May 27

11:03 AM ET

Nowitzki

Dallas Mavericks: This may be Dirk Nowitzki's first conference finals, but he's convinced that it isn't going to be his last so he's going to sit this one out. "Nellie told me if it's not right, he wasn't going to play me [in Game 4]," Nowitzki said in the Dallas Morning News. "And looking back, he was 100 percent right. It just didn't feel right, and it still doesn't feel right. He's concerned about my health and my body for the future. We have a lot more [conference and NBA] finals to come in the next few years for this organization. And that's way more important. If I was 34 or 35, I probably would have played. But this is the beginning of my career. I have 10 or 12 years of basketball ahead of me. It's way too early to be taking any chances with my career."

New Orleans Hornets: New Orleans may not have a head coach, yet. But they've got a former one who just might be their next GM. "I have spoken with members of the organization," Allan Bristow told the New Orleans Times- Picayune, "but they gave me no timetable as far as when they were going to hire somebody. I am delighted to be a candidate, but it's really difficult for me to say any more because of the way they like to keep things under wrap." Bristow coached the team from 1991 to 96, leading them to two playoff appearances.

Philadelphia 76ers: Eric Snow isn't exactly blaming Allen Iverson for Larry Brown's departure, but he will be if things don't turn out well for the Sixers. "If their relationship was the best relationship in the NBA, I'm quite sure [brown] would still be coaching," Snow told the Philadelphia Daily News. "I don't think it's a secret that they have differences. Did those differences drive [brown] out the door? I don't think so ...It's a situation where everything that happened in the past, you can throw out the window ...that if there were issues with coach Brown and Allen, now it's all on Allen."

Toronto Raptors: The Globe and Mail is reporting that point guard Alvin Williams has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair his left ankle for the second year in a row. Williams posted career-bests in scoring and assists this year and is expected to make a full recovery by the time camp opens in October.

Orlando Magic: Soon, we are told, there will be eight NBA teams looking for a new head coach. But Orlando, Doc Rivers tells us, isn't one of them. "I'm so tired of this I'm-going-somewhere stuff, it's ridiculous," Rivers said in the Orlando Sentinel earlier this month. "I love this place. I'll put it this way: They'll tire of me before I tire of them. That's very close to a guarantee." But since that statement, several promising positions have opened up, including head spots in Philadelphia and Houston.

Don't expect heroic Dirk

Eddie Sefko / Dallas Morning News

Bristow a candidate for Hornets' GM position

Jimmy Smith and John Reid / New Orleans Times-Picayune

Snow: It's up to Iverson now

Phil Jasner / Philadelphia Daily News

More surgery for Williams

Robert MacLeod / Globe & Mail

Magic may feel domino effect of Brown's resignation

Jerry Brewer / Orlando Sentinel