Before Carmelo Anthony landed on the New York Knicks in 2011, the Denver Nuggets explored trading the NBA All-Star scorer to the New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets) and the Utah Jazz.
When Anthony reflected on the said trade saga during the 2010-11 season, he couldn't help but laugh off the thought that he could have been traded to the Jazz at the time. Obviously, he didn't like the idea of going to Utah “for no reason.” Apparently, the Nuggets were eyeing Nets rookie Derrick Favors at the time and were willing to let go of their franchise player for the rookie big man, who was fresh from getting picked third overall in the 2010 NBA Draft.
Reports at the time noted that the Nets would be landing Anthony in a massive four-team trade that would involve the Jazz and the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets). However, it was not mentioned that he could've landed with the Jazz.
Of course, the deal didn't push through and the Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony alongside Chauncey Billups in a multi-player trade with the Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
It's hard to imagine what would have happened had Melo landed on the Nets or Jazz. He was instrumental in bringing back the Knicks to NBA relevance for a couple of years, though the relationship eventually turned sour after years of failure.
Then again, Melo would probably not last playing in small market teams at the time given the competitiveness of the bigger franchises.
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