The Nuggets must go with plan C: win now.
With the possible trade with the Nets in the circular file the Nuggets need to hang onto Carmelo Anthony for the rest of this season and let him leave as a free agent. They’ll get nothing in return. That means they have to win while they still have a chance. READ MORE.
Face it, South Standers. Your Denver Nuggets are preparing to rebuild – whether they trade Camelo Anthony or not – and they are relying on a novice front office. Maybe the best thing we can do is stop booing, enjoy the team we have while we have it, and prepare to watch our biggest star walk away.
The potential trade deal with New Jersey sounded attractive enough to soothe the pain the fanbase would suffer from losing the biggest star ever to hit the Mile High Hardwood but that deal went down in flames weeks ago. Even if it hadn’t, we would have been relying on a shaky crew of people at the top to keep the Nuggets relevant. The mishandling of the Nets deal implies that Josh Kroenke and Masai Ujiri have a lot to learn about negotiating in the NBA.
Other potential trade partners have emerged including the Knicks, who have nothing to offer, and the Dallas Mavericks who play in the Western Conference. The Knicks are ‘Melo’s preferred destination. The Mavs are only looking to “rent” Anthony which begs the question, “if a team in the West is going to use Carmelo for a playoff run, why not the Nuggets?”.
The Lakers are a shell of themselves right now. Suddenly the West looks wide open. If the Nuggets are going to “rebuild”, get bad and stay bad while they find new pieces, why not make the most of the team that previous front office wizards, like Mark Warkentien, former NBA Executive of the Year, assembled?
Nuggets fans may not have many chances to buy playoff tickets in the coming seasons. All indications are that the team is going to be bad – again – for a long time – under the new regime. Let’s strike while the iron is still relatively hot.
The Nuggets should announce that they will not be trading Carmelo Anthony or Chauncey Billups. The uncertainty has grown tiresome. Home crowds have been sparce and they have been flat. Nuggets games have become incredibly boring. Not even super-mascot Rocky is his old self.
It’s time to rally the troops – stir up the fanbase – fine tune this team and make a run toward the playoffs. Forget about trading Carmelo. It’s going to be a long, cold winter once he’s gone. Let the clouds clear and let’s bask in the sun one last time. Maybe the Nuggets can’t win a Championship. Maybe they can’t even make the Conference finals. They can win some post-season games, though. Maybe they can even beat those fucking Lakers.
