1992 was the last time a Knick started the All-Star game. That is until the past Sunday anyway. Amar’e started and represented well for New York. He would finish with 29 points and 6 boards in defeat for the East. Nonetheless, he performed very well, even scoring the first 4 points for the East. The night before, Landry Fields suited up for the Rookies in the Rookie Challenge. Landry would end up with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in the win. It was his usual resourceful performance.
But the highlight of last week was, of course, Carmelo. On Friday, it was reported that the Nets and Nuggets reach an agreement that would send ‘Melo to Jersey. I almost felt as if it was embellished because the original reports sounded a bit more conclusive than it actually was. The deal wasn’t done because it was pending Carmelo’s willingness to agree to that extension, which of course is what’s been holding this up from the beginning. So it was much ado about nothing.
While in L.A. for All-Star Weekend, ‘Melo , while visibly annoyed at time due to the questioning by reporters, was surprisingly candid in his responses. He answered all the questions and even admitted to meeting with both the Knicks and Nets this past weekend. He said he was “just listening”.
After the New Jersey rumors swirled on Friday, the Knicks reportedly offered a choice of Gallo or Fields, along with Felton, Chandler, Eddy Curry and a 1st round pick. Chauncey was supposed to be coming to NY along with ‘Melo as well. Well, if nothing else, it shows that the Knicks are sweating because they upped their offer significantly.
Then today, there were more rumors swirling. Even if the Nets do not end up with ‘Melo, they still might pull off a trade with Denver. If the Knicks send Gallo, Felton, Chandler and Mozgov to Denver, the Nets have been in discussions to then acquire either Gallo, Felton, Chandler or Mozgov. So the Knicks could end up with ‘Melo and the Nets could end up with a slew of Knicks players. If you’re the Knicks, you do not want that to happen. You don’t want to be reminded constantly of your former players that are just playing down the road now in New Jersey.
This has gotten beyond ridiculous and really doesn’t make much sense to continue talking about it until something actually happens. The trade deadline is Thursday at 3p ET and I believe that something will happen by then. Denver needs to do something or they could stand the chance of losing ‘Melo and getting nothing in return. We’re just a few days away from putting this all behind us…hopefully.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
