Adrian Wojnarowski, Al Iannazzone and Fred Kerber are all reporting that the Nets long pursuit of Carmelo Anthony is "close" to getting done, with Woj calling it "real close", Iannazzone calling it "closer yet" and Kerber "close". Iannazzone said 14 players from the Nets, Nuggets and Pistons could be involved.
Earlier Sunday, sports writers began reporting the Nets were making significant progress on a proposed three-day deal that would bring Carmelo Anthony and send more than half the current roster and a number of draft picks to Denver and Detroit. Multiple sources are now saying the deal could be done within 48 hours or even sooner. Moreover, it appears that 'Melo will not need to have Mikhail Prokhorov and/or Jay-Z make a recruiting pitch.
In the most definitive report, Al Iannazzone quoted a source saying the deal could be completed "tonight or tomorrow," with some details still to be cleared up. Colin Stephenson put the timeline at "as soon as tomorrow night."
Chris Broussard tweeted just after 4 p.m. that "NJ getting indications Melo's agreeable" to the extension if the deal goes down and "NJ getting indications Melo sit-down with Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z may not even be necessary to convince Melo to sign w/NJ." Separately, Chad Ford reports "From what I can gather progress on Melo deal looks encouraging but not done." Their colleague Marc Stein adds talks are "'further along' than any trade scenario that has been discussed since their near-acquisition of Anthony in late September, according to sources close to the negotiations".
Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski reports "There's momentum toward getting a deal done, because Denver's ready. 'They're getting a lot of pressure from Melo's people,' executive says", adding."Nets no longer asking for Detroit 1st rounder and searching for another team to unload Johan Petro on, sources say. Pistons want Murphy for Rip." Still, to get maximum savings for Denver in the complicated arrangement, the Nets will have to find a new home for Petro. John Schuhmann speculates on one possible destination: "Would Orlando want Petro + cash? They have a trade exception." If that fails, reports are that there are backup plans for the Nets, including the inclusion of the Cavaliers and their $14,5 million trade exception.
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Sources: Nets, Nuggets 'further along' - Chris Broussard & Marc Stein - ESPN
- Nets Getting Closer to Getting Anthony - Al Iannazzone - In the 'Zzone
- Sources: Nets, Nuggets closer to Carmelo Anthony deal - Al Iannazzone - The Record
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Nets Closer To Melo - Fred Kerber - New York Post Nets Blog
- Trade talks for Anthony ‘advancing’ - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
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Mega-deal that would bring Carmelo Anthony to Nets may be close - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
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Melo Trade Twitter Feed - Shane Patel - Twitter