Knicks pressured as Nuggets talk to Nets

With reports resurfacing that the Nuggets and Nets have resumed trade talks involving Carmelo Anthony, is Denver merely creating competition for Anthony or will the Nets become a real threat to the Knicks' efforts to land Anthony before the Feb. 24 trade deadline?

Newsday reported Saturday that the Nuggets were trying to bring the Nets back into the situation and according to multiple reports Wednesday, the teams have been in touch recently. Denver has always favored the Nets' package, which included multiple first-round picks and rookie Derrick Favors, but the caveat has always been whether Anthony would agree to sign an extension with New Jersey.

There has never been a question about whether Anthony would sign with the Knicks. But would he take the extension with the Nets if the Knicks can't agree to a trade with Denver? Anthony, according to multiple sources, is determined to sign now rather than go into free agency with the unknown rules of a new collective bargaining agreement.

This is why, as Newsday reported on Monday, there is heightened urgency within the Knicks organization to get Anthony to New York before next Thursday's trade deadline. A source with knowledge of the situation said the Knicks' concern is that the Nuggets aren't completely sure what they want from the Knicks.

At this point parameters have been set, with the Knicks ready to part with either Wilson Chandler or Danilo Gallinari (or possibly both) and also amenable to doing a point guard swap of Raymond Felton for Chauncey Billups, if the Nuggets want to make it a bigger deal. But as the Nets learned before owner Mikhail Prokhorov put an end to talks on Jan. 19, the Nuggets have a penchant for constantly changing the deal.

Amid reports over the last five days of proposals and counterproposals between the Knicks and Nuggets, Donnie Walsh was asked if he had anything on the table that he could do to get a deal done right now. The 69-year-old Knicks president turned with a blank expression and said, "None of your business."

There have been debates within the organization about giving up too much - adding rookies Landry Fields and Timofey Mozgov would be excessive, the Knicks believe - but Walsh said he would not be hesitant to dramatically shake up his roster.

D'Antoni's blog shot

The Knicks are finally buyers, not sellers, at the trade deadline for the first time in Mike D'Antoni's three-year tenure in New York. But it's not something he's enjoying. "It's just the names out there all the time," he said. "You just deal with it. I just think the landscape's changed a little bit with everybody reporting and all the blogs and all that."

The Dolan family owns controlling interests in the Knicks, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.