The chances of the 2011 free agent crop matching the players who were available this summer is a long-shot, but it seems possible that there will be at least one star up for grabs in the form of Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony can opt out of his contract with the Denver Nuggets at the end of the 2010-11 season, although he has already been offered a massive $65m extension by the club that would keep him there until 2015.

However, there is a chance according to NBA Betting pundits he may even be traded before this season tips off because of the possibility that Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke starts a rebuilding program by getting some blue chip prospects in for his one true superstar.

This is a story that could linger, much like the Chris Bosh saga in Toronto where the team almost began to feel it was being held to ransom – which, in effect, it was despite a lucrative offer put on the table by the Raptors.

Those who regularly discuss the best basketball bets note that the problem for Anthony, much like Bosh, is that he wants to be associated with a winning team and at the moment despite his presence and Chauncey Billups’ return last year, they are not near competing with the likes of the Lakers.

Two of their big men, Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin, are already doubtful to start the season because of injury and the only decent free agent they signed over the summer was Al Harrington, not exactly a name synonymous with success, despite some decent personal numbers.

Although Anthony continues to insist that all the talk about his future is just ‘rumors’, coach George Karl was hardly confident when he was asked about the future of the Syracuse star, good for 28 points per game last season.

“A lot of the summer talk never comes true. That’s what I’m hoping is going to be the case with Melo,” Karl said. Just hope, you notice, not think or feel…hope, and that is something the Nuggets will have none of if ‘Melo finds a new home sooner rather than later.

By Andy Charles

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