Endless Melodrama Overshadows Nuggets' Success

Mikhail Prokhorov, the New Jersey Nets' billionaire owner (for some reason you have to say billionaire owner with Prokhorov, why not the same for Stan Kroenke?), recently shook up the Carmelo Anthony trade saga with the news that he had pulled the cord on trade discussions concerning Denver's star forward. This led to more endless speculation as to the Nuggets next move; would they amp up talks with the New York Knicks, a team Melo would certainly want to sign a contract extension with? Would they consider trading him to another team that might only have Carmelo as a rental for a half-season? Other possibilities include keeping him and risk losing him for nothing in free agency or trying to revive talks with the Nets, who certainly have the best package to offer.

That being said, the Nuggets are still playing games and are currently only 2 and a half games out of first place in the Northwest division despite all of the trade talk distractions and a constant stream of injuries. The Nuggets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, and Carmelo had one of his best scoring games all year. Other Nuggets, notably Ty Lawson, J.R. Smith, and Nene have also been stepping up as of late, pointing to the fact that the team will undoubtedly not be starting from scratch if and when a deal for Melo takes place.

The sad thing is the way that Nuggets fans have turned on Melo throughout the whole ordeal. Melo has given Denver seven and a half tremendous years of hard work and taken his team to the playoffs every year. Melo is not required to sign the contract extension that the Nuggets have offered, and since he has made it clear that he probably isn't interested in the extension, then it is in the front office's best interest to trade him and get something for him. The same scenario happened with the Colorado Rockies and Matt Holliday a few years ago, and the Rockies got Carlos Gonzalez and Huston Street out of the deal, two of the baseball team's best players. The Nuggets may certainly get some good players from whatever deal happens, either straight from another team or through draft picks, or even both. Nuggets fans should enjoy Melo and cheer him on while he still suits up in blue and yellow at the Pepsi Center. He never did anything to deserve the ill sentiment.

One positive about the possibility (not necessarily probability) that the trade with the Nets has been squelched is that hometown hero Chauncey Billups will remain in Denver, at least for the moment. Mr. Big Shot has made it clear that he wants to finish his NBA career in a Nuggets uniform, not to mention guide them to bigger and better places, namely an NBA title. For everything that Billups has done for the Nuggets and the Denver community, he should be respected and not sent off into a basketball and cultural wasteland with the likes of Brook Lopez, Bon Jovi, and Snooki.

Hopefully the Nuggets can pull the trigger on some kind of a trade soon so that the team can build some chemistry with its new pieces before the playoffs start. It seems reasonable that the Nuggets can get some reasonable talent in a deal involving Melo only and not have to give up any more in return. While Melo is still a Nugget, however, there can still be a sense of enjoyment and appreciation from Nuggets faithful around the world.