Nuggets lose a game of Chicken with their franchise player

After hearing for the last couple of months all of the speculation swirling around now former Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony, it's hard not to feel like the Nuggets and 'Melo were engaged in a high-stakes game of chicken and the Nuggets simply swerved first. Both sides really were backed into a corner at the same time, but only Carmelo seemed to realize it. It seems to be widely accepted that the NBA is rapidly headed to a lockout in the upcoming offseason. NBA owners have said they want to lower salaries across the league by a whopping 33%. It seems as if the owners have finally noticed that it is ridiculous to pay the mid-level guys the audacious salaries they are currently making. Here are just a few of the more ludicrous:

Charlie Villanueva, Detroit - $7 million
Andray Blatche, Washington - almost $6 million
Michael Redd, Milwaukee - $18 million (for a guy who is NEVER healthy)
Corey Maggette, Milwaukee - $9.6 million
Samuel Dalembert, Sacremento - $13.4 million (WOW!)

I think you get the idea. That's just from looking at a few teams' payrolls. With that in mind, this lockout is going to end with lower player salaries across the board. There is just about no way around it. If Carmelo were to have stuck it out in Denver and tested free agency, he wound not have gotten anything near the current 3 year/$65 million contract extension he just agreed to with the Knicks. 'Melo knew this. The Nuggets really had Carmelo over a barrell if he didn't want to be a Nugget for the next 3 years. They just didn't seem to know it. They constantly treated the situation as 'We have to trade Carmelo and get something in return rather than let him walk in free agency and get nothing.' Carmelo was unlikely to walk away from this much money. It would have taken a strong desire to get out of Denver to get him to leave the money from that extension on the table and take his chances against the lockout, at least if the Nuggets refused to trade him.

Over the past two weeks it became abundantly clear that the Nuggets were willing to give Anthony what he wanted and trade him out of Denver. Several teams were rumored to be interested including Dallas, Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Nets, and the Knicks. Early season reports included the Bulls on that list as well. The only serious options for the deal were New York and New Jersey. Denver talked to both and had offers from both that they could deal with if accepted, but they made it clear they preferred the offer from the Nets, while 'Melo clearly preferred the Knicks. The way Denver gave in and dealt Carmelo to his preferred destination is appalling. The Nuggets had all the leverage in the situation, all of the clout. So why did Carmelo get what he wanted while the Nuggets took the second best offer? The Nuggets got scared first.

The recent events don't really leave another option or reason. The Nuggets still had 3 days left to pull the trigger on the deal when they sent Carmelo to the Knicks. They really should have tested Anthony's resolve a little more. Sure Denver decided a deal had to get done, but that's no reason for the Nuggets to allow Carmelo dictate where he was dealt to. Denver should have put an ultimatum on the star small forward to either sign the extension with the Nets and accept the trade there, or stay a Nugget and take a pay cut at season's end. Even if Carmelo held out, you could still make the Knicks trade at the last minute and get something in return for him. The Nuggets really needed to do more to force their small forward's hand into signing with New Jersey. The Nets deal would have not only improved the starting 5 more than the Knicks deal (or should I say not hurt it as much), but it would have given Denver FOUR 1st round picks. That's a lot. Instead, the Nuggets got too worried too soon and frantically made a deal that they had 3 more days to wait before they had to make it, and as a result, Carmelo is where he wants to be and the Nuggets got a 2nd rate payment for him.

If this were actually a game of chicken, the Denver Nuggets swerved off the road a good 200 yards away from Carmelo, and they certainly end up with the short end of the stick thanks to their lack of intestinal fortitude. Well done guys.