EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The New Jersey Nets’ attempt to acquire Carmelo Anthony is in a holding pattern.
A person close to the trade talks told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Nets are waiting for the Nuggets to sign off on a deal that would bring Anthony to New Jersey and also involve Charlotte and Utah. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were ongoing.
While he couldn’t talk directly about Anthony, Nets general manager Billy King acknowledged he had been working on a trade.
“I would say that we’re exploring everything,” King said Sunday. “But there’s no deal. We have nothing. We have nothing. We’re excited about the guys playing. I’ll continue to explore and see if we can make the team better. At this point I’m excited about watching our guys practice.
“I’ll continue to work the phones. It’s going to be a methodical process whether we do a deal now or six months from now or next year. But there is nothing.”
King admitted there was a sense of frustration in trying to make a big deal happen.
“It’s a process,” he said. “Anytime I made a trade it’s a process. Some of them take two years to get to the point when you get the player you want. Some take two weeks. I think you’ve got to make sure you do it and do it the right way.”
The person who spoke to The AP indicated New Jersey would ship Derrick Favors, the No. 3 pick overall in the draft and at least one first-round pick to the Nuggets for Anthony. New Jersey would also send point guard Devin Harris to Charlotte. There were other pieces to the trade that the person wouldn’t discuss.
Anthony averaged 28.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in leading the Nuggets (53-29) to their second straight Northwest Division title. The 26-year-old three-time NBA All Star 30.7 points and 8.5 rebounds in the opening round of the playoffs but it was not good enough to prevent Denver from being eliminated by Utah in six games.
The third overall pick in the 2003 draft, Anthony has career averages of 24.5 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Anthony has only played 69 or less games in three of the last four seasons, with his low of 66 coming in 2008-09.
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