https://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_17447733
After answering the media's questions, Carmelo Anthony exited the illuminated room into the gray and drab snaking hallways beneath Energy Solutions Arena, from where he escaped the nightmare.
The Nuggets had just lost at Utah last spring, their sixth first-round playoff-series loss in Anthony's seven seasons. The team was in disarray. The coach was home in Denver, battling cancer. Guard J.R. Smith was pouting like a toddler. Three key big men were losing their battle with injuries. Two key front-office executives had expiring contracts.
"It wasn't the fact that we lost — but how we lost, how we conducted ourselves," Anthony said recently. "For me, I don't think it was classy the way we went out. I don't think we went out with a fight."
When he walked to the team bus that April night, it was the last time Anthony was truly, wholeheartedly a Nugget. While the weight of the franchise rested on his chiseled shoulders, what Nuggets officials and fans didn't know was that he already was all but gone, though he had a year left on his contract.
On Monday night, it became official. Denver traded their all-star forward to the New York Knicks for four players and three draft picks.
How did Denver lose Anthony, arguably the best player in franchise history?
After all, there was still hope of keeping him last summer, despite the poor playoff showing against Utah, but what ensued was nothing short of a soap opera, leaving the Nuggets little choice but to trade Anthony or lose him to free agency.
"I don't have time to waste," Anthony said recently. "I'm going into my ninth season. I want to see the light at the end of the tunnel in my future, and that light is a championship. If I feel like I can't do that here (in Denver), then I don't think this is the right thing to do."
From a franchise-changing phone call by an enigmatic figure to the unfortunate timing of three stars joining forces in Miami to the dismissal of the entire front office, the Nuggets' summer performance could win a Daytime Emmy if it ever hit the small screen.
And whatever slim chance the team had of keeping him had all but evaporated by summer's end, though the trade was months away.
Seeking a larger stage
Anthony's wanting to leave the Nuggets was never as much about dissing Denver as it was his desire to get to a major media market, preferably New York. Doing so, he believed, would help his goals of becoming an international celebrity, and help him expand his interests in producing movies and music. His quasi-celebrity wife, entertainer La La Vazquez, had her own desires for stardom on a bigger stage. She even turned her marriage to Melo into a reality show.
Also hurting the Nuggets' chances to keep Anthony was the reality of the new NBA, thanks to three stars forming their own super team in South Beach. This superstar wanted his own super team.
Melo's first steps out the door were subtle, and trace back to the summer of 2009 when he cut ties with longtime agent Calvin Andrews, who worked at BDA Sports Management. Melo switched to the Creative Artists Agency, which employed Hollywood power players and a budding sports division. He chose as his new agent the well-respected Leon Rose, whose clients include a fellow named LeBron James.
"Melo wants to produce movies and music; he wants endorsements; he wants to be a conglomerate; he wants everything that's possible," a source said. "So why wouldn't he be with CAA?"
The evolution had begun. It sped up rapidly after the Nuggets were ousted from the playoffs last spring.
On May 29, Melo's 26th birthday, Vazquez threw him a chic birthday bash at Philippe in West Hollywood, a few weeks after the Nuggets' postseason ended. The celebrity guests, seen in photos on www.theybf.com, included singer Ciara, performer-actress Christina Milian and a gentleman named William Wesley — an unfamiliar name to most, but in basketball circles an A-list celeb. Known as "Worldwide Wes," this mysterious figure has formed ties with the NBA's biggest stars for decades.
As one agent said, "Worldwide is notoriously aggressive. He's got his hands in everything."
Of late, CAA employs Wesley as an agent for coaches and executives. According to three sources, Wesley contacted the Nuggets soon after the birthday party to suggest they trade Melo as soon as they could, in order to get maximum value.
The Nuggets had received their first shot of reality. Time was slipping away.
Front-office conflicts
During that same period, the Nuggets' front office was staffed with a mixture of basketball minds: Bret Bearup, an adviser and confidant of owner Stan Kroenke; Mark Warkentien, a shrewd negotiator who a year earlier had been named NBA executive of the year; Rex Chapman, the ex-player who had valuable relationships with several players; and Josh Kroenke, the owner's son who was rapidly gaining influence.
Multiples sources said Bearup, per Wesley's advice, pushed to move Melo quickly, but he ran into strong opposition. Warkentien, for one, was confident he could figure out a contract extension to keep Anthony.
"With their front office, let's just say if one guy really wanted to get something done — two other guys didn't," said a front-office executive from another team.
Heading into July, Warkentien worked on a complex contract that amounted to a three-year extension following the 2010-11 season for around $65 million. He and Rose decided to slow negotiations because of Anthony's July 10 wedding to Vazquez. At that point, Warkentien was so confident Anthony was going to sign he began sharing this information with people close to him.
A source with knowledge of Melo's thinking confirmed Anthony "seriously considered" signing the extension but added, "I recall that at the time of the wedding, there were definitely questions about whether he'd re-sign."
Just two days before the wedding, the NBA landscape was forever changed when Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the reigning MVP, LeBron James — all represented by CAA — agreed to play for the Miami Heat, uniting three perennial all-stars.
"That got everybody re-evaluating their situation — and seeing if there's a way they can be in a better situation," one NBA agent said.
Anthony always felt he was on the same talent level as James and Wade, who were members of the same draft class and gold-medal-winning Olympic team, though Wade has a championship ring, and James is a two-time MVP.
On July 10, with James in attendance, Anthony was married in New York. Hornets all-star guard Chris Paul made a toast afterward, the New York Post reported, in which Paul suggested that himself, Melo and the newest Knick, Amar'e Stoudemire, form their "own Big Three." Sure enough, Paul had recently hired Rose.
Anthony's brother later made a similar toast, creating an awkward scene for Josh Kroenke, and his father, Stan, who were in attendance.
Anthony understands the aura of New York — and New York basketball. His favorite all-time player is ex-Knick Bernard King. Melo lived in New York until he was about 9, married a girl who has close ties to the city, has a New York-based agent, still has family in the city and, he has said, truly appreciates the "Mecca" that is Madison Square Garden.
Twice, sources said, Melo's desire to look good at the Mecca has coincidentally led to his being "injured" in games leading up to the Nuggets' lone appearance in New York. One occasion was earlier this season, when he sat out games in Boston and Toronto, which infuriated teammates, then suited up in New York.
A whole new ballgame
Any positive feelings the Nuggets felt about signing Melo going into July disappeared when Anthony returned from his honeymoon in Costa Rica. "Everything kind of fell apart," a Nuggets source said. "After LeBron, the wedding, the honeymoon, all of a sudden, there was a different vibe."
Many blamed Melo's wife. When Anthony was in high school, a new face popped up on MTV, back when Music Television still aired music videos. The voice of the sexy and streetwise La La made schoolboys swoon.
A few years later, on Christmas 2004, Anthony proposed to his veejay girlfriend with a 9-carat ring. No wedding was forthcoming, however. In 2007, Vazquez gave birth to their son, Kiyan, who three years later would serve as ring-bearer at his parents' wedding.
As to her influence in persuading her husband to leave Denver, numerous sources said she played a major role.
Asked about the power Vazquez has in the marriage, a source close to the couple said, "Huge." For emphasis, the source repeated "huge" — nine times.
Anthony, though, denies his wife played a major role in his decision, saying recently, "You can all put this in bold words: La La has nothing to do with anything. She has nothing to do with with me staying or leaving. ... This is my career."
Whatever discussions the newlyweds had on their honeymoon, it became apparent soon after their return they were leaving town.
But the Nuggets weren't about to give up. Though already over the NBA's luxury-tax line, they tried desperately to bolster their roster in an effort to persuade Melo to sign the extension. Three sources said the Nuggets talked with New Orleans about trading Kenyon Martin for young big man (and big-money) Emeka Okafor, but Anthony seemed less than impressed, so Denver backed off.
The Nuggets also inquired about players such as Kevin Love, Udonis Haslem, Brendan Haywood and Jermaine O'Neal. They settled on adding free agent Al Harrington, a backup forward, in mid-July, a move that did little to impress Melo, though the two have become friends as teammates.
The Nuggets were learning it wasn't about making moves to impress Melo, but making the best move to get something for Melo.
By the end of July, the Kroenkes decided to cut ties with both Warkentien and Chapman. Across the league, the Nuggets' front office had gained a reputation for dysfunction. The Kroenkes wanted one united voice, and Josh Kroenke was emerging as the team's new president.
Warkentien's and Chapman's firings infuriated a key figure inside the organization, assistant coach Tim Grgurich. Not only was he extremely close with Warkentien and coach George Karl, but he was a treasured confidant to the players, most notably Anthony.
During the summer, when few Nuggets officials could get Melo to return a message, Grgurich was able to do so. With Warkentien gone, Grgurich retired, a decision that upset Anthony.
And, with Warkentien and Chapman gone, the Kroenkes, and Bearup, needed to regroup. By this time, Melo was not returning messages left by Karl.
On Aug. 22, with no resolution in sight and little communication from Melo, Josh Kroenke showed up in Anthony's backyard.
Sealing a deal
Humble and hard-working, the 30-year-old Kroenke was raised on his parents' Midwestern values, not just the value of their billion-dollar bank account. With his father taking ownership of the NFL's St. Louis Rams last summer, he started the process of assuming control of the Nuggets. Newly minted as team president, Kroenke arrived in Baltimore armed with a sales pitch.
Melo, Rose and Anthony's business manager, Bay Frazier, listened courteously to Kroenke's plea for Melo to stay in Denver. After which they told him, "New York or Chicago."
It was a punch to the gut.
Regaining his composure, Kroenke told Anthony he would try to accommodate him. But negotiations with the Bulls went nowhere. Chicago wouldn't deal Joakim Noah. Likewise, the New York Knicks had few marquee trade pieces they were willing to give up at that point. If the Nuggets traded Anthony, it would have to be another team, they felt. They began exploring potential deals with the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston and New Jersey, which was moving to Brooklyn in 2012.
They couldn't trade Melo to just any team, because he wasn't about to sign the three-year extension to play for just any team. If he wouldn't sign the extension, a team wouldn't give up valuable assets to have Melo for one season, then see him become a free agent.
According to four sources, Kroenke and Bearup flew to L.A. to meet with the Clippers' brass and had discussions about trading Anthony for rookie-to-be Blake Griffin, shooting guard Eric Gordon and a future first-round pick. But by late summer the Clippers weren't about to move Griffin, the 2009 No. 1 draft choice who had recovered from a knee injury.
Heading into September, Kroenke hired a co-pilot, Masai Ujiri, a like-minded, youthful former Nuggets scout who would create a united voice with Kroenke as the team's head of basketball operations. Ujiri came into the job with confidence that he, too, could persuade Anthony to stay. But he couldn't get Melo to return calls.
"The biggest mistake they made was waiting as long as they did," a rival executive said. "They needed to hire someone sooner, who could have operated trying to trade Melo when there was still a bunch of (salary cap) room available. You want somebody at the helm by July 1. When there are hundreds of millions of cap space available, it changes the entire complexion of what you're able to do."
By the time Ujiri was hired, most teams had spent their money and made their trades.
In early November, Kroenke got rid of Bearup, who had argued for a trade before free agency hit. By then he had helped work out the parameters of a blockbuster four-team trade which would have sent Melo to New Jersey just before the season tipped off. But Denver's executives decided at the last second to wait, believing they could get more value if they were patient.
That patience was rewarded Monday night. The Nuggets got far more than they were offered only a week ago.
And, Anthony got his wish.
https://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_17447733
After answering the media's questions, Carmelo Anthony exited the illuminated room into the gray and drab snaking hallways beneath Energy Solutions Arena, from where he escaped the nightmare.
The Nuggets had just lost at Utah last spring, their sixth first-round playoff-series loss in Anthony's seven seasons. The team was in disarray. The coach was home in Denver, battling cancer. Guard J.R. Smith was pouting like a toddler. Three key big men were losing their battle with injuries. Two key front-office executives had expiring contracts.
"It wasn't the fact that we lost — but how we lost, how we conducted ourselves," Anthony said recently. "For me, I don't think it was classy the way we went out. I don't think we went out with a fight."
When he walked to the team bus that April night, it was the last time Anthony was truly, wholeheartedly a Nugget. While the weight of the franchise rested on his chiseled shoulders, what Nuggets officials and fans didn't know was that he already was all but gone, though he had a year left on his contract.
On Monday night, it became official. Denver traded their all-star forward to the New York Knicks for four players and three draft picks.
How did Denver lose Anthony, arguably the best player in franchise history?
After all, there was still hope of keeping him last summer, despite the poor playoff showing against Utah, but what ensued was nothing short of a soap opera, leaving the Nuggets little choice but to trade Anthony or lose him to free agency.
"I don't have time to waste," Anthony said recently. "I'm going into my ninth season. I want to see the light at the end of the tunnel in my future, and that light is a championship. If I feel like I can't do that here (in Denver), then I don't think this is the right thing to do."
From a franchise-changing phone call by an enigmatic figure to the unfortunate timing of three stars joining forces in Miami to the dismissal of the entire front office, the Nuggets' summer performance could win a Daytime Emmy if it ever hit the small screen.
And whatever slim chance the team had of keeping him had all but evaporated by summer's end, though the trade was months away.
Seeking a larger stage
Anthony's wanting to leave the Nuggets was never as much about dissing Denver as it was his desire to get to a major media market, preferably New York. Doing so, he believed, would help his goals of becoming an international celebrity, and help him expand his interests in producing movies and music. His quasi-celebrity wife, entertainer La La Vazquez, had her own desires for stardom on a bigger stage. She even turned her marriage to Melo into a reality show.
Also hurting the Nuggets' chances to keep Anthony was the reality of the new NBA, thanks to three stars forming their own super team in South Beach. This superstar wanted his own super team.
Melo's first steps out the door were subtle, and trace back to the summer of 2009 when he cut ties with longtime agent Calvin Andrews, who worked at BDA Sports Management. Melo switched to the Creative Artists Agency, which employed Hollywood power players and a budding sports division. He chose as his new agent the well-respected Leon Rose, whose clients include a fellow named LeBron James.
"Melo wants to produce movies and music; he wants endorsements; he wants to be a conglomerate; he wants everything that's possible," a source said. "So why wouldn't he be with CAA?"
The evolution had begun. It sped up rapidly after the Nuggets were ousted from the playoffs last spring.
On May 29, Melo's 26th birthday, Vazquez threw him a chic birthday bash at Philippe in West Hollywood, a few weeks after the Nuggets' postseason ended. The celebrity guests, seen in photos on www.theybf.com, included singer Ciara, performer-actress Christina Milian and a gentleman named William Wesley — an unfamiliar name to most, but in basketball circles an A-list celeb. Known as "Worldwide Wes," this mysterious figure has formed ties with the NBA's biggest stars for decades.
As one agent said, "Worldwide is notoriously aggressive. He's got his hands in everything."
Of late, CAA employs Wesley as an agent for coaches and executives. According to three sources, Wesley contacted the Nuggets soon after the birthday party to suggest they trade Melo as soon as they could, in order to get maximum value.
The Nuggets had received their first shot of reality. Time was slipping away.
Front-office conflicts
During that same period, the Nuggets' front office was staffed with a mixture of basketball minds: Bret Bearup, an adviser and confidant of owner Stan Kroenke; Mark Warkentien, a shrewd negotiator who a year earlier had been named NBA executive of the year; Rex Chapman, the ex-player who had valuable relationships with several players; and Josh Kroenke, the owner's son who was rapidly gaining influence.
Multiples sources said Bearup, per Wesley's advice, pushed to move Melo quickly, but he ran into strong opposition. Warkentien, for one, was confident he could figure out a contract extension to keep Anthony.
"With their front office, let's just say if one guy really wanted to get something done — two other guys didn't," said a front-office executive from another team.
Heading into July, Warkentien worked on a complex contract that amounted to a three-year extension following the 2010-11 season for around $65 million. He and Rose decided to slow negotiations because of Anthony's July 10 wedding to Vazquez. At that point, Warkentien was so confident Anthony was going to sign he began sharing this information with people close to him.
A source with knowledge of Melo's thinking confirmed Anthony "seriously considered" signing the extension but added, "I recall that at the time of the wedding, there were definitely questions about whether he'd re-sign."
Just two days before the wedding, the NBA landscape was forever changed when Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the reigning MVP, LeBron James — all represented by CAA — agreed to play for the Miami Heat, uniting three perennial all-stars.
"That got everybody re-evaluating their situation — and seeing if there's a way they can be in a better situation," one NBA agent said.
Anthony always felt he was on the same talent level as James and Wade, who were members of the same draft class and gold-medal-winning Olympic team, though Wade has a championship ring, and James is a two-time MVP.
On July 10, with James in attendance, Anthony was married in New York. Hornets all-star guard Chris Paul made a toast afterward, the New York Post reported, in which Paul suggested that himself, Melo and the newest Knick, Amar'e Stoudemire, form their "own Big Three." Sure enough, Paul had recently hired Rose.
Anthony's brother later made a similar toast, creating an awkward scene for Josh Kroenke, and his father, Stan, who were in attendance.
Anthony understands the aura of New York — and New York basketball. His favorite all-time player is ex-Knick Bernard King. Melo lived in New York until he was about 9, married a girl who has close ties to the city, has a New York-based agent, still has family in the city and, he has said, truly appreciates the "Mecca" that is Madison Square Garden.
Twice, sources said, Melo's desire to look good at the Mecca has coincidentally led to his being "injured" in games leading up to the Nuggets' lone appearance in New York. One occasion was earlier this season, when he sat out games in Boston and Toronto, which infuriated teammates, then suited up in New York.
A whole new ballgame
Any positive feelings the Nuggets felt about signing Melo going into July disappeared when Anthony returned from his honeymoon in Costa Rica. "Everything kind of fell apart," a Nuggets source said. "After LeBron, the wedding, the honeymoon, all of a sudden, there was a different vibe."
Many blamed Melo's wife. When Anthony was in high school, a new face popped up on MTV, back when Music Television still aired music videos. The voice of the sexy and streetwise La La made schoolboys swoon.
A few years later, on Christmas 2004, Anthony proposed to his veejay girlfriend with a 9-carat ring. No wedding was forthcoming, however. In 2007, Vazquez gave birth to their son, Kiyan, who three years later would serve as ring-bearer at his parents' wedding.
As to her influence in persuading her husband to leave Denver, numerous sources said she played a major role.
Asked about the power Vazquez has in the marriage, a source close to the couple said, "Huge." For emphasis, the source repeated "huge" — nine times.
Anthony, though, denies his wife played a major role in his decision, saying recently, "You can all put this in bold words: La La has nothing to do with anything. She has nothing to do with with me staying or leaving. ... This is my career."
Whatever discussions the newlyweds had on their honeymoon, it became apparent soon after their return they were leaving town.
But the Nuggets weren't about to give up. Though already over the NBA's luxury-tax line, they tried desperately to bolster their roster in an effort to persuade Melo to sign the extension. Three sources said the Nuggets talked with New Orleans about trading Kenyon Martin for young big man (and big-money) Emeka Okafor, but Anthony seemed less than impressed, so Denver backed off.
The Nuggets also inquired about players such as Kevin Love, Udonis Haslem, Brendan Haywood and Jermaine O'Neal. They settled on adding free agent Al Harrington, a backup forward, in mid-July, a move that did little to impress Melo, though the two have become friends as teammates.
The Nuggets were learning it wasn't about making moves to impress Melo, but making the best move to get something for Melo.
By the end of July, the Kroenkes decided to cut ties with both Warkentien and Chapman. Across the league, the Nuggets' front office had gained a reputation for dysfunction. The Kroenkes wanted one united voice, and Josh Kroenke was emerging as the team's new president.
Warkentien's and Chapman's firings infuriated a key figure inside the organization, assistant coach Tim Grgurich. Not only was he extremely close with Warkentien and coach George Karl, but he was a treasured confidant to the players, most notably Anthony.
During the summer, when few Nuggets officials could get Melo to return a message, Grgurich was able to do so. With Warkentien gone, Grgurich retired, a decision that upset Anthony.
And, with Warkentien and Chapman gone, the Kroenkes, and Bearup, needed to regroup. By this time, Melo was not returning messages left by Karl.
On Aug. 22, with no resolution in sight and little communication from Melo, Josh Kroenke showed up in Anthony's backyard.
Sealing a deal
Humble and hard-working, the 30-year-old Kroenke was raised on his parents' Midwestern values, not just the value of their billion-dollar bank account. With his father taking ownership of the NFL's St. Louis Rams last summer, he started the process of assuming control of the Nuggets. Newly minted as team president, Kroenke arrived in Baltimore armed with a sales pitch.
Melo, Rose and Anthony's business manager, Bay Frazier, listened courteously to Kroenke's plea for Melo to stay in Denver. After which they told him, "New York or Chicago."
It was a punch to the gut.
Regaining his composure, Kroenke told Anthony he would try to accommodate him. But negotiations with the Bulls went nowhere. Chicago wouldn't deal Joakim Noah. Likewise, the New York Knicks had few marquee trade pieces they were willing to give up at that point. If the Nuggets traded Anthony, it would have to be another team, they felt. They began exploring potential deals with the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston and New Jersey, which was moving to Brooklyn in 2012.
They couldn't trade Melo to just any team, because he wasn't about to sign the three-year extension to play for just any team. If he wouldn't sign the extension, a team wouldn't give up valuable assets to have Melo for one season, then see him become a free agent.
According to four sources, Kroenke and Bearup flew to L.A. to meet with the Clippers' brass and had discussions about trading Anthony for rookie-to-be Blake Griffin, shooting guard Eric Gordon and a future first-round pick. But by late summer the Clippers weren't about to move Griffin, the 2009 No. 1 draft choice who had recovered from a knee injury.
Heading into September, Kroenke hired a co-pilot, Masai Ujiri, a like-minded, youthful former Nuggets scout who would create a united voice with Kroenke as the team's head of basketball operations. Ujiri came into the job with confidence that he, too, could persuade Anthony to stay. But he couldn't get Melo to return calls.
"The biggest mistake they made was waiting as long as they did," a rival executive said. "They needed to hire someone sooner, who could have operated trying to trade Melo when there was still a bunch of (salary cap) room available. You want somebody at the helm by July 1. When there are hundreds of millions of cap space available, it changes the entire complexion of what you're able to do."
By the time Ujiri was hired, most teams had spent their money and made their trades.
In early November, Kroenke got rid of Bearup, who had argued for a trade before free agency hit. By then he had helped work out the parameters of a blockbuster four-team trade which would have sent Melo to New Jersey just before the season tipped off. But Denver's executives decided at the last second to wait, believing they could get more value if they were patient.
That patience was rewarded Monday night. The Nuggets got far more than they were offered only a week ago.
And, Anthony got his wish.
https://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_17447733
