In his highly anticipated press conference Wednesday, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov announced instructions for the front office to step away from the negotiating table with the Denver Nuggets to acquire Carmelo Anthony. This includes cancelling any supposed meeting between Nets management and Anthony. “It has been too long and too expensive,” he said. Citing distractions to the team, Prokhorov thought the negotiations were making the Nets lose games. While Prokhorov did announce that his decision was final, he said he was happy with the way King and the rest proceeded. Like reports in the last couple weeks that Denver was upset with the public nature of the trade talks, Prokhorov was also irked that things weren’t kept close to the chest.
At this point, it seems that Prokhorov is fairly resolute in his abandonment the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony. With that said, I wouldn’t rule anything out until the trade deadline, as this could simply be a move to turn the Nuggets into the pursuers.
