mark kiszla
Kiszla: Nuggets don't want to get LeBron'd by Carmelo Anthony
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/17/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Updated: 08/17/2010 01:01:24 PM MDT

While deciding where he wants to spend the rest of his basketball life, Carmelo Anthony will do what's right by his family.
But believe this: Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke will do what is best for his hefty investment in an NBA franchise, even if that means trading Melo.
There is no way Denver can afford to lose the face of its franchise for nothing as a free agent.
The Nuggets are now considering a strategy to part ways with their 26-year-old star forward, according to a league source.
After quietly gauging trade interest in Anthony for weeks, the team's consternation has only risen as he has made no move to accept a $65 million offer for a three-year contract extension that was formally presented more than a month ago.
The Nuggets don't want to get LeBron'd.
LeBron James toyed with anxious minds in Cleveland before ripping out the hearts of Cavaliers fans by announcing a departure from his home state on live television. As was first reported by The Denver Post in June, the Nuggets are prepared to trade Anthony rather than watch him opt out of his contract next summer.
With a resume that includes an NCAA championship won at Syracuse and an Olympic gold medal that helped restore international luster for American basketball, Anthony has the skills to make the dream of the first NBA title in Denver a reality. But the team and its best player seem to have drifted slowly apart.
So what would be the trade market for Anthony?
His 28-point career scoring average through seven professional seasons should attract keen interest in Anthony from a franchise looking for a star to sell tickets in the regular season or hit a big shot at the buzzer during the playoffs. Anthony's contract situation figures to give him leverage in trade negotiations, because any team looking to add the 6-foot-8 forward would want to be assured of keeping his services long term.
With experience dealing for high-profile
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players such as Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups, Denver has established a comfort level when it comes to making blockbuster trades. The team showed sincere interest in retaining Melo, as Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien tried to sell the idea that Melo could become the basketball version of John Elway and be a sports icon in the Rocky Mountains.
Warkentien, however, was part of a front-office purge that also cost executive Rex Chapman his job.
The time has come for the Nuggets to give Anthony a deadline to sign the extension.
"I could wake up tomorrow and they could snatch it off the table. I don't know. I don't know what their mind-set is," Anthony said recently, during a break from his annual youth basketball camp.
The first duty of the Nuggets' next general manager could be the high-risk, high-reward task of trading Anthony. While former Phoenix Suns executive David Griffin is among the candidates for the job, a familiar face to longtime Denver sports fans expressed interest in joining the new Denver management team.
Lafayette "Fat" Lever, a point guard who averaged nearly a triple-double in points, rebounds and assists during the 1988-89 season, has worked with the Sacramento Kings as director of player development.
"The body might not be what it once was, but the mind has definitely gotten stronger," said Lever, who celebrates his 50th birthday this week.
"I'm not qualified to be the general manager of the Denver Nuggets or any other NBA franchise at this point in time. But the love of building a basketball team is in my blood, and I definitely have a lot to offer as a member of the front office."
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
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