Q: Can the original four-team deal that involved Charlotte, Utah and New Jersey be revived?
Doesn't look like it.
Sources confirm, the Nets haven't backed off their pursuit of Anthony one bit. But recent discussions with Denver have focused more on a direct two-team deal with the Nuggets or a multi-teamer that ropes in Portland rather than anything that brings the Bobcats (who wanted Nets point guard Devin Harris) or Jazz (who would have saved significant money by swapping Andrei Kirilenko for Charlotte's Boris Diaw) back to the table.
The Nets and Knicks remain the most fervent Melo chasers. One source close to the situation maintained that the Nuggets -- if they can manage it -- continue to prefer not to send Anthony to his preferred destination in New York, should they ultimately concede that a trade is unavoidable.
Whether that's because the Nuggets don't like the idea of Spike Lee serving as the Knicks' lead recruiter or because they simply don't like what New York has to offer is not fully clear. Yet you can rest assured that the Knicks won't backing off any time soon.
The Knicks are also trying to enlist the Blazers' help to put together a package Denver won't be able to resist, since New York needs to manufacture at least one first-round pick and probably an additional asset or two to tempt the Nuggets. The Knicks simply don't have the assets to deal with Denver directly, since their most attractive pieces are Eddy Curry's expiring contract and forwards Anthony Randolph and Danilo Gallinari, who the jury is still out on.
