HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Of course, with eight days left before the trade deadline there’s also one team that isn’t being mentioned nearly enough considering their consistency in shaking things up this time of year. It seems every year the Dallas Mavericks make a significant move before the deadline, and Mavs GM Donnie Nelson told HOOPSWORLD recently that he is actively looking for a deal. Last season the Mavs were so eager to consummate a deal with the Washington Wizards that they didn’t even wait until after the All-Star break to announce it, for which they were fined by the NBA.

Yes, the Mavericks are always eager to make a move, and even now, as they prepare to enter the break as one of the hottest teams in the league, they are hot on the trail of . . .drum roll, please . . .Carmelo Anthony.

The problem for Dallas is they would have to break up a team that’s playing well to absorb Carmelo’s contract, and they would also have to find a third team with pieces the Nuggets covet . . .namely, first round picks and young, emerging talent. Still, the chance to give Dirk Nowitzki what he has long needed – a legitimate All-Star scoring threat on his wing – is something the Mavericks can’t afford to pass on if there’s even a slight chance they could get it.

As for a third team, the Mavericks likely wouldn’t have to look much further than their own back yard. Well, south yard, anyway. The Houston Rockets, for all of their interest in Carmelo, would be equally happy to make a subsequent deal with the Nuggets that would land them Nene, Al Harrington and another piece in exchange for a combination of picks and young players likely to include Shane Battier, Chase Budinger, and/or Aaron Brooks. Brooks would be particularly appealing to the Nuggets, who are looking to move Chauncey Billups if they do trade Carmelo, and have expressed interest in New York’s Raymond Felton. Brooks is a comparable talent when he’s healthy and feels valued.

Of course, the Knicks are pummeling the media with trade rumors that land Melo in a Knicks uniform, and there’s still a chance that happens. According to Newsday, the one team the Knicks fear most as a potential roadblock to their acquisition of Carmelo is the Dallas Mavericks. And for good reason. The Mavericks love to make a splash at the deadline, and this year there is no bigger splash than Carmelo Anthony.

Brandon Roy Talks Dunk Contest

The bad news surrounding Brandon Roy has been one of the Portland Trail Blazers’ most devastating themes as a franchise. As much as Sam Bowie was a dark chapter for the team, and as much as losing Greg Oden has brought that to mind, the possibility that Brandon Roy may never be able to play freely again is a huge disappointment for NBA fans in Portland, and frankly, around the league. Still, the All-Star break is a chance to set aside some of the negatives of the season and enjoy the NBA’s biggest spectacle, and Roy took a few minutes to break down his favorite event – the Slam Dunk Contest, including who he thinks would win between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James – in this exclusive interview with HOOPSWORLD:

Playing with the league’s best playmaker could absolutely revive Murphy’s career, and that fact that he would feel he had something to prove would only make the situation more ideal for the Hornets. He may not be quite at David West’s level, but Murphy’s ability to hit the three, his presence on the glass, and his ability to run the floor would serve the Hornets well.

It will be interesting to see how much of what’s rumor to be going on actually happens before next week’s trade deadline, and as Steve Kyler, Eric Pincus and myself prepare for five grueling days of All-Star coverage this will all be running in the background. Where will Carmelo land? Will the Nuggets trade him at all? Can Houston make the move they need to salvage their season? Will the Mavericks resist making a splashy move that could also sabotage all that’s going right for the team?

As All-Star weekend kicks into high gear, trades will be on hiatus, but the talk about who might be traded will, as always, overshadow anything that happens at the NBA’s gala event.