The Denver Nuggets have enjoyed a nice run since obtaining Carmelo Anthony in the 2003 NBA Draft. Seven straight playoff appearances, 3 Division titles and an appearance in the Western Conference Finals are a testament to Melo’s influence. With that being said, the time has come for the two to part ways.

Trade rumors involving Anthony have been coming fast and furious over the past several days, and it seems likely his time as a Nugget will soon be over. Trading a superstar is never an easy or popular decision, but the Nuggets would be wise to pull the trigger on any acceptable deal at this point.

If the most recent rumors are to be believed, then packages involving such young stars as Joakim Noah, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez and Blake Griffin have been discussed with their respective teams. Multiple draft picks are also said to be high on the Nuggets wish list for Carmelo.

Going young and re-loading through the draft is a solid game plan for Denver. It’s obvious that the Nuggets have peaked with their mercurial superstar heading the charge. For a couple of seasons, the Nuggs looked like a very real threat to the Lakers supremacy out West, but injuries, key personnel losses and questionable effort and focus have kept the Nuggets largely stagnant since coming up short in the Western Finals in 2009.

The Nuggets prospects are probably about the same with or without Melo in 2010-2011. They have lost ground to up and comers like Oklahoma City and Portland in the West while still looking up to the Lakers and Mavericks.

Anthony has made it clear he doesn’t want to be in Denver any longer – leaving a 3-year, $65 million deal on the table. He has openly expressed his interest in other NBA clubs without shame. This might be a bitter pill for the Nuggets front office and fans to swallow from the face of the franchise, but losing him via free agency and getting nothing in return next summer would leave an even worse taste in their collective mouths.

–Antwan Leonard

Antwan writes a Fantasy Sports Blog – H2H Fantasy Sports – with the latest in Head-to-Head Fantasy news, tips and recommendations.

Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony has seen his name pop up in rumors for about a month now with several teams chasing him. He’ll be a free agent in 2011 unless he re-signs now and while he hasn’t came out and said he’ll stay faithful to the Nuggets, he recently made a much bigger commitment; marriage. After five years of engagement, ‘Melo and his longtime girlfriend LaLa Vasquez got married last month.

A honeymoon is the natural next step in any new marriage and so ‘Melo and LaLa took their talents to Costa Rica. While there the newlyweds enjoyed some ziplining, boat trips and fishing. I like ‘Melo, so I’ll spare him the obvious ‘gone fishin’ jokes, though I’m sure some Photoshop fiends will have a field day with some of the pics below.

It’s hard to tell if it’s better for him to try and win in Denver or join a super team in New York with Amare Stoudemire and possibly Chris Paul and free agency is his big bargaining chip, so it’s doubtful he’ll commit one way or another any time soon. As we can see, he’s enjoying his vacation and new wife. Here’s a bonus gallery of the star-studded boat ride before their wedding.

Photos courtesy of [IamLaLa.com].

- Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

Team USA basketball got off to a good start in their quest for gold with a 101-70 whooping of host country China. LeBron James tore up the first half while Dwyane Wade was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points. Team USA struggled shooting the ball early but got it going in the second half to cruise to victory.

Yao Ming sprained his ankle in the game but he did return to the game. Before he got hurt he welcomed Kobe Bryant to China:

Team USA, China, basketball, video, youtube

Team USA basketball began their quest for the gold with a 120-65 blowout of Canada in an exhibition game in Las Vegas. Dwyane Wade looks to be recovered from his injuries, and Carmelo Anthony continues to play well under international rules, but there’s not a lot to be learned from this game. Canada sucks. Chris Sheridan of ESPN broke down Team USA’s defensive performance, and early on it looks like giving up uncontested shots and lack of size are the team’s weaknesses. Team USA will play Russia and Lithuania next week which will give us a better read on the squad.

Team USA, Canada, video, youtube

Carmelo Anthony is disappointed in himself and his team but unfortunately “we quit” doesn’t mean the Denver Nuggets are conceding the series to the Los Angeles Lakers. Maybe the league will step in and stop the fight since the Nuggets are being outclassed and are unable to defend themselves. If Denver was gonna roll over, why not roll over in the regular season and let the Golden St. Warriors make the playoffs? The Warriors weren’t gonna beat the Lakers, but the scores would’ve been closer before G. State melted down and cost themselves the game.

So now that the Nuggets have trash-talked Kobe Bryant into embarrassing them in Los Angeles and Denver, and the Lakers winning the series is a formality, where do the Denver Nuggets go from here? They need a new philosophy more than new players. The Nuggs will continue to be first round whipping boys until they make a committment to defense, and learn to keep their composure no matter what the refs are doing.

Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets, youtube, video, utube, we quit

Kenyon Martin of the Denver Nuggets combined his 30th birthday party with a New Year’s eve party in South Beach. It was pretty much like my 30th birthday party minus the Maybachs, ice sculptures, hot women all around, girls dancing on stages, celebrities, a swimming pool, cameras, and the triple level car cake. I guess the only thing we actually had in common was turning 30.. K-Mart has a couple of social networking pages set up; one for the b-day/new year’s party and one for personal use if you’re trying to keep up with the bad ass yellow boy.

More Denver Nuggets Partying:
AI and Melo, Out and About

Tags: Kenyon Martin, NBA, Denver Nuggets, youtube, party

Where the hell was I when the “Nene is sprung on a pornstar, that’s why he can’t ball” story broke? Hat tip to Melo… By my simple deductions, this video was shot Monday, April 9th, 2007. Denver had just finished a punishing 4 point victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, giving them a 6 game win streak.. And cause to be out feelin themselves.

Speaking of feeling it..Skip ahead to about 2:52 of this video.

This video was shot before Allen Iverson was traded to the Nuggets, but who cares? If I find a video of George Mikan sitting around talkin shit with 50 grand on the table, I’m posting that too.

Tags: Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, NBA, Sports, Basketball, youtube, utube

LeBron James:
Nike Zoom LeBron V
$140

For the record, I would rock the Melos and the Kobe IIs (preferably in all black), but not the Kobe IIIs.

Tags: NBA, Shoes, Sneakers, Kicks, Nike, Adidas, Converse, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade