The three-way trade between the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons centered around Carmelo Anthony appears to be officially over. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov told his management team to walk away from the deal.
"I’m not happy with the way … this deal has gone until now," said Prokhorov. "It has taken too long. It has been played out in public and it certainly has taken a toll on the players and I believe that it has cost us several games. I think management did a great job, but there comes a time when the price is simply too expensive. I’m instructing our team to walk away from the deal."
How does this affect the Pistons, who had been hoping to unload unhappy guard Richard Hamilton in the trade (and aren’t playing him at all right now)? Detroit Free Press beat writer Vince Ellis reported the following on Twitter:
#Pistons just heard from the Nets. The deal is off.
The question is whether or not to take Prokhorov and the Nets at their word, or if this is posturing to create more urgency for the Nuggets to make a deal. Remember last week, when Denver threatened to trade Anthony to the New York Knicks if the Nets didn’t stop making every step of the negotiations public? This could be the Nets’ countermove.
Ellis added in another tweet that the Pistons want (need?) this deal to happen, so might push for trade discussions to be reopened. Meanwhile, Troy Murphy -- the player that would've gone to Detroit for Hamilton -- has requested to be traded, according to SI.com's Chris Mannix. That could mean that the Pistons and Nets might try to revisit the deal amongst themselves.
Check in with Detroit Bad Boys for the latest from the Pistons’ side of things. Denver Stiffs has the Nuggets’ perspective covered.
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