The price that the Nets would pay for Anthony in what would be a multi-team trade would be steep.

Yahoo said the Nuggets wanted power forward Derrick Favours, the No. 3 pick overall in the draft, and a protected 2012 first-round pick the Nets received from Golden State.

The Utah Jazz and Charlotte Bobcats also would be involved in the trade and Yahoo reported that the Bobcats would get all-star point guard Devin Harris from the Nets.

Charlotte would send forward Boris Diaw to the Jazz, who would send forward Andrei Kirilenko to the Nuggets. The Nets would also get point guard D.J. Augustin from the Bobcats.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: The prodigal son may or may not return to his place of birth.

Word is the Carmelo Anthony to the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets trade rumor has hit a snag. Such is life when dealing with a diva/superstar and a four-team blockbuster that’s more complicated than those derivative mortgages that ushered in the global recession.

Here are a few of the issues:

•    Anthony, who can become an unrestricted free agent in July, has yet to agree to a multi-year extension with the Nets. No extension. No deal.

•    Anthony also isn’t sold on the Nets. He’s desperate to play with superstar pal Chris Paul, who hits free agency in 2012.

•    The Denver Nuggets aren’t ready to cut ties with Anthony, their ling-time franchise face. Although there’s been little movement on an extension, the Nuggets may want another shot at convincing the forward to stay.

•    The Charlotte Bobcats are having second thoughts on including young point guard D.J. Augustine. Right now, the NBA is stacked with point guards, but Augustine could still develop.

Make no mistake about it, this hinges on Anthony. If he wants to be a Net, the deal happens. All involved will acommodate.

Like the Nuggets’ offence, the ball is in Melo's hands. Everyone is watching to see what he'll do.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

Trade talks involving Bobcats center Erick Dampier are expected to increase beginning Monday. Dampier has a unique, voidable $13 million expiring contract.

A team can trade for Dampier and then waive him without having to absorb any of his salary.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Starting Monday, it’s on.

The Charlotte Bobcats - a small market, cap conscious team with dreams of heading back to the playoffs – will listen to offers for Erick Dampier. And Dampier will be in demand, just not for his on-court skill.

Beginning tomorrow, the veteran’s contract can be voided without penalty. A team could acquire him, waive him, and be off the hook for the final year of his $13 million contract.

In today’s economy, this is an in valuable asset. In fact, the Bobcats could trade him to a team looking to cut salary and get back a quality player.

Depending on the Bobcats’ finances, owner Michael Jordan could also release Dampier and re-sign him for less or release him and sign a cheaper post. This would help the team get under the luxury tax.

So Erick Dampier will be the focus of much speculation, and it’s all because of the business of basketball.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
 

The Bobcats have agreed to terms on a contract with Kwame Brown. Brown will earn the league-minimum under a one-year deal that will reunite him with Michael Jordan, who drafted him first overall in Washington.

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Chris Paul as a Charlotte Bobcat isn't crazy. I'm told it's a twinkle in the eyes of this team's decision-makers. There are a handful of places Paul would want to relocate in a trade, and Charlotte - near his suburban Winston-Salem home and possessing a Hall-of-Fame coach - should be among the viable candidates.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: It’s a nice thought. Really, it is.

Superstar gets traded to his hometown. Superstar finds mentors in a Hall of Fame coach and retired superstar turned owner. Hall of Fame coach and retired superstar turned owner take the current superstar under their wing. The current superstar then leads his hometown to greatness.

Now for reality.

Chris Paul is not leaving small market New Orleans for small market Charlotte. It doesn’t matter that the Bobcats play near his home in Winston-Salem. Or that Larry Brown, for now, runs the sideline. Or that Michael Jordan is the majority owner.

Paul is about one thing: winning. 

The Bobcats would be too similar to New Orleans. They wouldn’t generate enough revenue to pay top talent and compete for a championship in the polarized, have-have not world of the NBA.

Paul knows this, so he’ll lobby for a trade to a major market like New York, New Jersey, or Miami. If his efforts for a trade fail, he’ll play out his contract and pick his new club as an unrestricted free agent in 2012.

And that – hometown or not – won’t be Charlotte.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

The Timberwolves are close to signing free-agent point guard Luke Ridnour to a multiyear deal, according to league sources. The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that the contract is worth $16 million over four years.

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HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Luke Ridnour is in. Ramon Sessions is apparently out.

Reports indicate the Minnesota Timberwolves are on the verge of signing Ridnour, a veteran table-setter who'd make an ideal mentor and back-up to Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio -provided the Spaniard ever arrives in The Frozen Tundra of 'Sota.

Landing Ridnour is a solid move; however, it's surprising how quickly the Wolves soured on Sessions. One year ago he also signed a four-year, $16 million deal to serve as the club's reserve point guard.

Something changed last season. And now something else has to change before next season.

Expect Minnesota to shop Sessions, and the Charlotte Bobcats - who wisely backed out of a deal with the Toronto Raptors for Jose Calderon - will have interest.

After all, Charlotte executive Michael Jordan has a hole to fill at the one-spot after Ray Felton signed with the New York Knicks.

So the Ridnour signing won't be the last of the Wolves' busy off-season.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below!

Tyson Chandler and Alex Ajinca have been dealt by the Bobcats to Dallas for the non-guaranteed contract of Erick Dampier, Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera, according to a source. Chandler believed he would be traded to the Raptors on Monday, but owner Michael Jordan backed out of the trade.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: He’s still the OG of all-time greats. And he still wields tremendous clout.

For instance, Michael Jordan, the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and the NBA’s all-time greatest player, was recently asked at his basketball camp who he’d take: Kobe Bryant or LeBron James?

His one word answer sends a hundred ten year old campers into a frenzy of epic proportion and nearly causes an adolescent, Agent Cody Banks style riot.

Watch the video and get at us with thoughts on Jordan’s answer to Kobe or LeBron.

--Oly Sandor.

The Nets could sign restricted free-agent forward Tyrus Thomas to a significant, front-loaded offer sheet after swinging and missing on this summer's top free agents.

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We knew a few veteran players with big contracts and opt-out clauses would be entering free agency this July in order to avoid relying on the power of the union in its collective bargaining negotiations over the next year. Despite that, a few opt-out declarations have come as surprises.

Count Bobcats center Tyson Chandler among them. Chandler, a 27-year-old scheduled to make $12.6 million next season, is strongly considering opting out of his deal, reports ESPN's Chad Ford.

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HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Only a tier-one, creme de la creme player should opt-out, leave eight-figures on the table, and become a free agent.

Translation: unless you're Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, or LeBron James, stay put. Average players - sorry, but that's you Chandler - should enjoy the obscene contract they signed when times were good in the NBA because the free agent landscape has changed.

For the most part, free agency now favors the buyer. Teams dictate money. Teams dictate term. And average players no longer command obscene, Enron-inflated contracts. 

Chandler, an injury-prone center, won't get the money or a security he covets in free agency. His best option: not opting out and staying another year in Charlotte.

Should Chandler opt-out or stay with the Bobcats? 

"My teammates say when we wrestle I shouldn't use 100 percent of my strength. They said I should use 50 or 40 percent," said Howard, smiling. "So that's been the main focus today, using 40 percent of my strength to hold guys off." 

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“I do,” Howard said. “I just want to try not to get frustrated. It’s very tough when you’re out there playing and you try to block shots, rebound and be physical and sometimes the whistle doesn’t go your way. I try not to get frustrated, my teammates do the best they can to keep me from losing my head; I haven’t done it in six years, hopefully I can continue.” 

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NBA spokesman Tim Frank says Dell Curry will be allowed to vote for all the other postseason awards, but the league did not want to put him in an awkward position with the rookie award. 

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Jordan added: “I want this place to be like when we used to come to play, it was the loudest thing. You’d hear that buzzing and all that crazy stuff. I want that same feeling to come back here. And it’s going to take some time. Obviously, it starts on the basketball court. And at the same time, building that relationship back with the community. That’s what I want to do.” 

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