You have to think that eventually, he will. We’ve heard too much speculation about the Nuggets’ three-time All-Star not to think that something’s afoot. Either Anthony will opt out of the final year of his contract in Denver next summer, leaving over $18.5 million on the table, or the Nuggets will pull the trigger on a pre-emptive move to unload Anthony before then.
It’s a sad ending to a messy story. For seven years, the Nuggets have tried to win a title with Anthony as their centerpiece, and while he’s led them to seven straight winning seasons and seven straight trips to the West playoffs, they’ve still never been able to sniff the Finals.
They’re unlikely to finally get over the hump this spring. The competition out West is just too deep — the Lakers are still daunting as ever, the Thunder are on the rise, and the depth of strong veteran teams like Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio is just too great. The Nuggets are a long shot to shock the world and reach their first Finals now. They had might as well start scrapping things and preparing for life after Anthony.
The situation might call for a good old-fashioned baseball trade. We see it all the time on July 31, when selling teams unload their superstars at the deadline to rebuild for next season. The modern-day ubiquity of the sign-and-trade has made the superstar-selling move less common in the NBA, but Anthony might be a case where the Nuggets have to bite the bullet and make a deal. We’ve seen it too many times recently — a player gets so desperate to leave that he leaves millions on the table, forgoes the sign-and-trade possibility and simply skips town, leaving the old team with nothing.
LeBron James did it this summer. Chris Bosh did, too. Anthony might be next.
The Nuggets will have plenty of options to unload their star small forward. Anthony is an elite scorer, probably one of the league’s top five, at age 26 entering the eighth season of his NBA career. He’s just entered his prime years, and in the right situation, he could be the best player on a serious title contender right now. He’s just got to find it.
The Bulls are a real possibility. A trade would make sense for both sides — Chicago is one elite scorer away from being a championship-caliber team, and Denver would no doubt love to get back a solid young piece to rebuild with, like a Joakim Noah or Luol Deng. If the Nuggets are serious about trading Anthony soon, they had better explore their options in the Windy City.
The Knicks are an option, as are the Nets and Rockets. All of the above would get a huge boost from adding Anthony’s 25-plus points per game. But who wouldn’t?
A deal has to get done. Anyone in the NBA would love to have Anthony’s services, and at this point, the Nuggets would love to unload Anthony to anyone in the NBA — as long as they can get something good back.
All signs point to a messy divorce in Denver. The Nuggets can only hope to get custody of their future.
NESN.com will analyze 25 key NBA questions this September.
Sept. 10: How long will Chris Paul be a Hornet?
Sept. 12: Will Tyreke Evans survive the sophomore slump?
