NBA Capsules: AP source says Knicks, Nuggets agree on Anthony deal
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks ended the Carmelo Anthony trade saga and their quest for a second superstar with one blockbuster deal.
The Knicks beat out the rival New Jersey Nets to win the Anthony sweepstakes by agreeing to a trade with the Denver Nuggets on Monday, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The deal that would finish the season-long trade speculation involving Denver's All-Star forward and send him to his desired destination can't be finalized until Tuesday during a conference call with the NBA office. Assuming it goes through, it puts Anthony alongside Amare Stoudemire in a potentially explosive frontcourt — at a heavy cost to the Knicks, who hoped in July to sign two top stars but came away with only one.
The person provided no other details of who was in the deal, which was first reported Monday by The Denver Post. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly on the trade.
The Post, citing a league source, said the Knicks would send Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and a 2014 first-round draft pick to the Nuggets, who would get additional picks and cash.
Along with Anthony, New York would acquire Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman, according to the Post.
ESPN later reported it was a three-way deal with Minnesota, which would acquire Eddy Curry and Anthony Randolph from the Knicks for Corey Brewer.
The Nuggets have explored an Anthony trade since he refused to sign the three-year contract extension worth nearly $65 million they offered him last summer. They appeared on the verge of sending him to the Nets on multiple occasions, but the Knicks increased their offer enough to land Anthony, who was believed to prefer New York all along.
"All trades for coaches are sad, there's happy and sad. I'm glad it's over, I'm glad it's an opportunity to reinvent," Denver coach George Karl said as he got into his SUV outside the Pepsi Center on Monday night. "I think everybody handled it as classy as you can handle it. There's some sadness to it, there always will be. In the same, it's time to move on, reinvent."
The Knicks would hope Anthony could be in uniform Wednesday when they host the Milwaukee Bucks.
Anthony led the Nuggets to the playoffs in each of his first seven seasons in Denver after winning a national title at Syracuse as a freshman and had them positioned for another playoff run this year. But Denver advanced out of the first round just once in that time.
He stood to become the headliner of the 2011 free agent class, but didn't want to risk free agency knowing a new collective bargaining agreement could cost him millions. But once he refused the extension with the Nuggets — plus put his Denver mansion on the market last year — the Nuggets' new front office team of general manager Masai Ujiri and team president Josh Kroenke had to begin trade talks so they wouldn't risk losing him and getting nothing in return as the Cavaliers did with LeBron James and the Toronto Raptors did with Chris Bosh last year.
There were persistent rumors Anthony wouldn't take the extension if traded to the Nets, which was a prerequisite for them agreeing to a trade. He instead gets his apparent wish to join a Knicks team that is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and in position for its first playoff berth since 2004.
But they'll make their postseason run without the core of the team. Felton, Gallinari, Mozgov and Chandler were four of New York's top six players, and there is some thought the Knicks gave up too much to get Anthony, a sensational scorer headed to a team that doesn't necessarily need more scoring.
However, the Knicks felt they couldn't pass on the opportunity to land a 26-year-old superstar once he became available. Assuming he extends with the Knicks, Anthony and Stoudemire would be under contract for four more seasons, though the uncertain salary cap situation could wreck New York's plans to be spenders over the next two summers.
The Nets wanted Anthony and believed they would get him, hoping the Brooklyn native would be the face of their franchise when they open their new Barclays Center in that borough in 2012. But though he never publicly confirmed the speculation that he wouldn't have extended with the Nets, he did note Friday during the All-Star weekend in Los Angeles that the Knicks were further along after acquiring Stoudemire — his good friend — last summer.
Anthony met with both Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan over an All-Star weekend that was often overshadowed by the trade talks and hoped there would be a resolution before he returned to the Nuggets. That indeed happened — he was excused from practice Monday so he could remain in California to appear on Conan O'Brien's show.
The Nuggets made out well, considering they could have lost Anthony for nothing in the summer. The Nets' offer, centered on rookie Derrick Favors and draft picks, would have meant a rebuilding situation, while the players they acquire from New York could keep them in postseason contention in the Western Conference. The Nuggets host Memphis on Tuesday night.
"I think they play exciting basketball, exciting young players," Karl said of the newcomers. "How we rebuild our team and reconstruct it — there will be some tough moments, but it will be fun how fast it can come together, how fast it can grow up and how fast it can prove itself to being a playoff-caliber team, which my hope and my desire is to continue to be a playoff team."
Karl said he'll miss Billups, a hometown favorite and consummate professional who helped Denver reach the Western Conference finals in 2009-10, when the Nuggets nearly eliminated the eventual champion Lakers.
"I think Chauncey will go down as one of the greatest winners," Karl said. "His record of seven or eight conference finals is, I mean, that's incredible. I think that's who he is, that's what he stands for. He brought one of them to us. Last year we had a miserable ending. I think there's many people, including myself, that will be sad for Chauncey. I know he loves Denver and we love him, but things happen. There's decisions that have to be made.
"I'm 100 percent behind the decision we made, even though it will be dangerous and there won't be the veteran point guard back there," Karl added. "Felton, I thought was having a great season this year. But I think Ty (Lawson) and Felton are going to have a great challenge to live up to what Chauncey has given us in past years."
Asked who his starting point guard would be, Karl said, "Probably Ty," then got into his maroon SUV and drove away.
Lookahead: Can Lakers get it together, play host to NBA Finals, too?
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The All-Star game was never supposed to be Kobe Bryant's highlight at Staples Center this season.
Not when his two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were expected to have a shot at a third in a row. Even after LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, the Heat agreed with Michael Jordan that the Lakers were the favorites until somebody beat them in June.
These days, June basketball doesn't even look like a sure thing for the Lakers. They stumbled into the All-Star break with three straight losses, capped by a defeat in Cleveland against a Cavaliers team they beat by 55 earlier in the season.
But nobody is counting Bryant's bunch out yet.
"They are the champions. We understand and know the second half of the season, they are going to play even better and when it comes time to win, they are going to be the team to beat," Wade said.
Wade's Heat might have the team to do it, and the Boston Celtics would love another shot at their biggest rivals after losing in seven games last June. But first, the Lakers have to prove they're the best in the West before they worry about who's tops in the East.
They are currently third in the conference, 8½ games behind NBA-leading San Antonio and 2½ back of second-place Dallas. But the Lakers looked shaky late last season before putting it together, and they're confident they can do it again.
"It has been like a lot of hot and cold this season, a lot of contrasts and looking for a level of consistency," All-Star forward Pau Gasol said. "I feel that we can do that."
Bryant won his fourth All-Star MVP award Sunday, scoring 37 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the Western Conference's 148-143 victory over the East. He looked poised for the stretch run, with a couple of soaring dunks, one over a chasing James, that showed there's plenty of bounce left in his sometimes aching legs.
The season resumes Tuesday with the expected conclusion of the Carmelo Anthony trade situation. A person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday that the Knicks and Denver Nuggets had agreed on a blockbuster that lands the All-Star forward in New York.
The deal, first reported by the Denver Post, could be finalized Tuesday after the completion of a conference call between the teams and the NBA office.
Anthony's season-long saga has sometimes overshadowed the news on the court, but the focus will be back there once the deadline has passed.
Even if the Lakers get things figured out, the road to the NBA finals might go through San Antonio. With a 46-10 record and health they haven't enjoyed in recent years, the Spurs seem capable of winning a fifth title with Tim Duncan after they struggled just to reach the postseason in 2010.
"Last year we had 50 wins the whole season and now we have 46, so no one really expected it," All-Star Manu Ginobili. "We have always been healthy and nobody misses a game, and we got the experience and we got a better bench."
While they cruise out West, Boston leads Miami by percentage points in the East, with Chicago two games back. The Celtics are 3-0 against the Heat, but haven't been able to keep centers Shaquille O'Neal and Jermaine O'Neal healthy to surround their four All-Stars.
"We are not where we want to be. I mean, I know it sounds crazy, still at the top of the East and we have the best record, but I don't think we are near where we want to be," Paul Pierce said. "We battled a lot of injury. We battled inconsistent play over the last couple of weeks. We are just fortunate to be in the position that we have. We haven't been healthy all year long. I'm just waiting to see what's going to happen in the next couple of weeks when we get about 95 percent healthy, to see what's really going to happen."
The Knicks are sixth in the East, in position to make their first playoff appearance since 2004. They lurk as a dangerous lower seed with Anthony joining fellow All-Star Amare Stoudemire in a potentially explosive frontcourt.
"The team that we have now, we are not too bad," Stoudemire said Sunday. "We are making our playoff push, but you never know how things may end up here in the next few days."
The MVP race could come down to Chicago point guard Derrick Rose or James, the two-time winner who figured his move to Miami counted himself and Wade out this season. But he's been so good that he believes he's back in the conversation, especially if the Heat continue to recover from their rocky start and reach the potential that was expected of them.
"For the first two-thirds of the season, we played some good basketball. For the last third of the season, we have to understand that we cannot afford to take a step backwards and we have to keep moving forward," James said. "We have to continue to get better, because there are teams out there that's better than us right now."
Maybe the Lakers can still prove they are one of them.
"We are looking forward to it," Bryant said. "We are up for the challenge."
-- Brian Mahoney
Barnes returns, Bryant refocuses for Lakers
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Matt Barnes returned to practice with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, shooting free throws and doing non-contact drills just six weeks after tearing cartilage in his right knee.
Kobe Bryant realizes the veteran swingman is probably the only reinforcement he'll get for the Lakers' run at a third straight title.
Just like everything else that happens to the Lakers these days, that prospect doesn't seem to bother the two-time champions.
"It's a marathon, but you see the finish line," Bryant said while going back to work at the Lakers' training complex after winning his record-tying fourth MVP award at Sunday's All-Star game in Staples Center.
"I'm concerned, (but) it's no different than last season," Bryant added. "There's always a level of concern. Every team is concerned at this point."
General manager Mitch Kupchak said last week he thinks a trade is unlikely before Thursday's deadline, and coach Phil Jackson has said the Lakers have the ingredients to win another title.
With 25 games to go, the Lakers (38-19) would seem to have plenty of reason to be concerned about whether they can compete with the NBA's elite — but after reaching three straight NBA finals and winning two titles, there's apparently little doubt in their collective minds.
After a practice stretching nearly three hours on Monday, the Lakers will return to Staples Center to host Atlanta on Tuesday night. Los Angeles spent the last seven games on its longest road trip of the season, limping into the break with three straight losses after winning the first four.
The Lakers lost to NBA-worst Cleveland last Wednesday night, leaving the players with a long weekend to think about the most embarrassing defeat in a season already including home losses to Sacramento, Milwaukee and Memphis.
But did the Lakers stew? Not a chance.
"We're more annoyed than worried," said Lamar Odom, who spent the weekend ignoring the All-Star festivities after not getting chosen for the West squad. "We know what we have left to do in the regular season. It's a test we need, and a test we're looking forward to. We just need to improve our focus and play more like we're used to playing."
While Odom and Ron Artest spent the long weekend with family when they weren't working on their innumerable side projects and business ventures, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he didn't even watch film until Monday, sitting at home and "soaking up the sun" when girlfriend Jeanie Buss wasn't dragging him to Bryant's enshrinement in cement outside Grauman's Chinese Theater.
The Lakers just don't panic, even at this low point in an up-and-down season. They're still looking forward to a boost from Barnes, who is averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in his first season with the Lakers.
"He brings a great deal of energy in his shooting and his defensive intensity," Bryant said. "We're looking forward to having him back."
Barnes has missed 20 games since getting hurt Jan. 7 while going after a rebound against New Orleans. He underwent surgery two days later, and his return to practice was ahead of the two-month projected recovery time.
Barnes is expected to go through perhaps three more practices before returning to uniform, likely next week.
The long weekend also was beneficial to center Andrew Bynum, who got ample rest for his surgically repaired knees. He missed a game against Houston three weeks ago with a bone bruise in his knee, and he's still struggling to return to top form after missing the first 24 games of the season.
"It's getting better, but it doesn't feel the same since before the surgery," Bynum said. "It will come back. I just need time."
-- Greg Beacham
Wade says ankle is fine, plans to play Tuesday
MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade's sore right ankle is not sore enough to present a problem for the Miami Heat. Wade was able to practice Monday and pronounced himself ready to go when the Heat open their post-All-Star schedule at home Tuesday night against Sacramento — one of several pieces of positive news Miami got when it reconvened to start the final 26-game stretch of the regular season.
"I don't want to miss any time," Wade said Monday night. "It's not serious enough to miss any time."
Wade aggravated the ankle midway through the third quarter of Sunday's All-Star game when he tried an acrobatic pass and landed awkwardly. He left moments later and did not return.
Wade acknowledged that he was worried for a few moments Sunday night, but once the acute pain subsided, it was clear that the problem was minor.
"I think he's more tired than he is sore," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think this was a tough turnaround for these guys to get in at 7 a.m. today and bounce back at a 5 p.m. practice. That makes it tough probably for your body, getting on a normal East coast clock."
For Miami's All-Star contingent — Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, along with 3-point shootout champion James Jones — some rest is still surely in order.
All-Star weekend — loaded with sponsor events, business meetings and then the game itself — proved hectic for everyone.
Even with Wade sitting the game's final 17:02, Miami's three representatives logged much more playing time Sunday than Boston's four All-Stars. Celtics coach Doc Rivers had Wade, James and Bosh play an average of about 24 minutes, while Boston's foursome of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett logged an average of 14 minutes.
Spoelstra wasn't bothered.
"The minutes in one particular game, that doesn't affect anything, big picture," Spoelstra said. "These guys are young."
James played 32 minutes, the most of anyone in the game for the second straight year.
Both the Heat and Celtics play on Tuesday, though Miami's All-Stars needed to make a cross-country flight home to get ready for Sacramento, while Boston's only had to make the quick trip to northern California for a game with Golden State.
"Man, I'm 26 years old," James said. "I don't go out to All-Star weekend to sit on no bench during the game. I want to play and I want to win. Me and Doc talked and I was fine with playing as many minutes as I did. I hate to come out of any game. I don't care if it's a recreation game in the summertime. I just love to play."
So Wade was feeling good, James was feeling good, and forward Mike Miller was feeling better.
From the Heat perspective, that's significant progress.
Spoelstra said tests have concluded that Miller did not have a concussion despite taking blows to the head three times in a five-day span before the break. Miller did some shooting Monday, was held out of practice and will not play Tuesday — but could be in the lineup as soon as Thursday when Miami visits Chicago.
"I feel good right now and I'm just waiting for them to let me play," said Miller, who added that he has no problems other than a nagging cold.
And forward Udonis Haslem, who hasn't played since November because of a ruptured ligament in his foot, was on the court with his team — in basketball sneakers, not a walking boot — for the first time in months on Monday.
It was more of an appearance than anything else. Haslem still is targeting a late March return, though that hardly seems guaranteed and his rehab process has several more significant steps.
"It's still real early," Haslem said. "Right now I'm taking it day by day. When I'm ready, I'll know."
Miami (41-15) is percentage points behind Boston (40-14) for the East's best record, is two games ahead of Chicago in the conference race, and 5½ ahead of Orlando in the Southeast Division.
"We're into the final sprint and our focus is not just generically getting our game right," Spoelstra said. "We want to improve and reach another level, reach higher or another two levels, which we're capable of. And I think that makes us unique than most of the teams contending. We don't necessarily know what our ceiling is."
-- Tim Reynolds
Silas doesn't expect Bobcats to pull off deal
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Since taking charge of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006, Michael Jordan has made 13 trades involving 35 players.
Yet while half the roster is seemingly mentioned in various trade reports, coach Paul Silas doesn't anticipate another major move before Thursday's trade deadline.
"It doesn't seem like it," Silas said Monday night. "There's been talk, there's always talk, but if you give up something you've got to get something. That's a major problem. People want to take what you have and give you nothing back. So that's not going to happen. We'll keep what we have and go with it."
While things could change before Thursday, that's welcome news to top scorers Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace.
Jackson, who still has two years and $19 million left on his contract after this season, and Wallace, who is owed about $21 million during that time, have been named in numerous reports as possible players Jordan could move to lower the payroll of his money-losing team.
"At the end of the day I've got a great job wherever I'm at," Jackson said. "I would love to be here, though."
Added Wallace: "I'm happy here. Family is good here, I love the city. My main thing is trying to help the team get to the playoffs."
After a terrible 9-19 start got Larry Brown fired, the Bobcats (24-32) have played much better under Silas to move within a game of the Indiana Pacers (24-30) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jordan lifted the interim tag from Silas last week and gave him a one-year contract extension. After watching his team go through a workout Monday following a four days off for the All-Star break, Silas seemed content with keeping the Wallace-Jackson combination.
"I don't think we'd be where we are now without those two," Silas said. "I looked at both of the today and they were excited, played all out. Gerald Wallace was unbelievable today and Jack was terrific."
Forward Boris Diaw and center Nazr Mohammed have also been included in the myriad of reports and rumors. Mohammed acknowledged he checks out the various NBA rumor websites each morning, but isn't concerning himself with being dealt.
"I read it and it's interesting," Mohammed said, "but at the same time nothing is done until it's done."
The Bobcats are hopeful forward Tyrus Thomas will be able to return in two weeks from knee surgery, giving Charlotte added depth in the frontcourt for the stretch run. Thomas who has been out since Jan. 20, did some light running on Monday.
"If we keep guys healthy and get Tyrus back, hopefully, we'll be OK," Jackson said. "I think we have enough to make the playoffs."
Still, not making a deal would run counter to Jordan's history as first the managing partner and now the outright Bobcats owner. The trades reached a fever pitch under the demanding Brown, with Charlotte making nine trades involving 27 players since before the 2008-09 season.
"Every team can get better, but you've got ask is a tweak going to improve the team?" Mohammed said. "Sometimes things look better on paper."
-- Mike Cranston
Injured guard Redd joins practice with Bucks
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Michael Redd rejoined the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday with a new perspective for the game.
Redd last played 13 months ago when he tore both the anterior cruciate ligament and the medial collateral ligament in his left knee on Jan. 10 against the Lakers in Los Angeles. He was away from Milwaukee with the club's permission, opting to rehabilitate back home in Columbus, Ohio.
"It feels great," Redd said after participating in practice. "It feels great. One of the happiest days of my career to come back and be a part of practice. To be on the court is a blessing, man. I kissed the court."
Redd has averaged 20.2 points in his 10-year career and was a gold-medal winning member of Team USA at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but has appeared in just 51 NBA games since.
"You really start to treasure things when you can't do them anymore," Redd said. "I missed the last two years of my career due to injury. Not that I didn't appreciate it before, but I appreciate it even more because I did miss it."
Redd, 31, missed the final 48 games of the 2009-2010 season and was out nine games from Nov. 3-21 with a strained left patella tendon. Then, it was seven more from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9 with left knee soreness.
His sore left knee cost him a considerable portion of the 2008-09 season. He played in 33 games and led Milwaukee in scoring for the sixth consecutive year at 21.2 points per game, but missed the last 35 games after tearing the ACL and MCL in his left knee on Jan. 24, 2009, against Sacramento.
Redd's first step will be to work out with team trainers to determine his next step.
"You can have all the great plans you want, and then all of a sudden something happens and there's a setback," coach Scott Skiles said. "Or, it goes the other way. You realize the guy is a lot further along. The medical staff has a hold of that."
Bucks center Andrew Bogut believes Redd could be back playing in games soon.
"He did 20 minutes," Bogut said of Redd's effort. "He can't obviously go through a full practice. It would be stupid for him to do so. He's got to build himself up until he's comfortable and ready. He did the warm-up drills and looked pretty good."
Bogut was asked if Redd might help the Bucks (21-34) turn around their season and make the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
"Any energy shot we can get will help us," Bogut said. "Obviously, he's about two weeks away from what I hear our trainers say."
Redd, a shooting guard who has made 427 starts in 568 games, said he had no preconceptions about how he would fit in.
"Basically, I'm new to this team," he said. "Whatever happens happens. Everybody knows what I can do. It's just a matter of getting me in basketball shape and playing again. Whatever I can do off the court, on the court, I'll do it."
He is being paid $18.3 million in the final year of a $91 million, six-year contract signed in 2005 and wants to play another three to five years.
Hornets' G Jarrett Jack arrested, charged with DUI
SNELLVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Police in an Atlanta suburb say New Orleans Hornets' backup point guard Jarrett Jack has been arrested and charged with drunken driving.
Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead said in an e-mail Monday the 27-year-old former Georgia Tech star was pulled over early Sunday by an officer who clocked him at 66 mph in a 45-mph zone. Police say Jack's Mercedes was also weaving.
Whitehead says Jack failed a field sobriety test, then was taken to the Gwinnett County jail and given a breath test, which measured just under the legal limit of .08 more than an hour after Jack was stopped.
Jack was also charged with failure to maintain a lane. He was released Sunday night. He did not immediately return a call for a telephone number listed for him in Atlanta.
NBA All-Star game earns best TV rating since '03
NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA All-Star game has earned its highest television rating since Michael Jordan's last appearance in 2003.
The Western Conference's 148-143 win Sunday night on TNT featuring a duel between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James drew a 5.2 rating. That's up 37 percent from last year, part of a season of strong ratings for a league bursting with intriguing story lines.
Ratings measure the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program.
Grizzlies sign swingman Carney to 10-day contract
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies have signed veteran swingman Rodney Carney to a 10-day contract. Carney was waived by the Golden State Warriors Jan. 4 after averaging five points in 25 games.
He also has played for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers in five seasons following four years at the University of Memphis.
