The first day of basketball activity is upon us for NBA All-Star Weekend, but all everyone wanted to talk about on Friday was Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets. Anthony, the disgruntled forward in the final year of his contract in Denver, has been the subject of trade discussions for weeks, mostly centering around the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks. The Los Angeles Lakers have been rumored to be interested Anthony as well, though just about everybody has denied that on record.
Until today, that is. Anthony, speaking to reporters today after an NBA Cares charity event, shot down rumors of a reported deal in place between the Nuggets and Nets, subject to Carmelo signing an extension with New Jersey. At the same time, Anthony acknowledged the Lakers and Nuggets have in fact talked about a possible trade, telling reporters, "A couple days ago, [the Nuggets] were talking with the Lakers."
Also, per the Associated Press:
"Whether it’s Prokhorov or Dolan or (Lakers owner Jerry) Buss, the third team that just came out last week, whoever it is, you would want to sit down and have eye contact with him and get a feeling for him," Anthony said.
Anthony is an All-Star for the fourth time in his career this season, the third time as starter.