Den21vsBal19
03-02-2009, 03:09 AM
Denver Post (http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11816372)
INDIANAPOLIS — Recently, a Denver sports star in his mid-20s, who is devoted to the team that drafted him, discovered that his team was talking trade. Oh, come to think of it, this also happened to Jay Cutler.
Yes, one might recall last summer when NBA teams, notably Detroit, inquired about acquiring Carmelo Anthony.
"At first, it was like, 'What the (expletive) is going on,' " the Nuggets' Anthony said Sunday. "But you don't really know what's going on."
Nuggets executives will never send an opposing exec to voice mail, so when teams asked about trading for Anthony, it was their job to at least listen. But when word got out that Denver even considered a Melo trade, he wasn't pleased.
And so, Anthony could relate to the emotions involving the Broncos' quarterback, who learned Friday he was part of a proposed three-team deal with Tampa Bay and New England, although it never materialized.
"You got to learn that it is a business, especially with him," said Anthony, who last summer was ultimately reassured by Nuggets exec Rex Chapman that Denver wouldn't trade him. "(Cutler) has been the guy who they've been saying could be the next (John) Elway perhaps. (Trade rumors) are always a tough situation because you don't know where it's coming from, who's saying it, if it's true, if it's false. That was my big thing this summer. Just let me know, so I can get my mind off thinking about where it's coming from and who's saying it and who's not saying it."
With players, understandably, there is a respect factor involved. The fact that their team would consider a trade can be insulting and humbling. But, as Nuggets coach George Karl said: "Jay's got to understand there have been a lot greater players than him that have been talked about in trades. When the contracts are so big, every player is probably discussed."
Karl was critical of Cutler's comments to The Denver Post, when the quarterback said: "I don't play for the coaches anyway; I play for teammates."
Said Karl: "That comment is way out of control. . . . I don't think that sits with the team concept."
Sometimes, as Anthony can relate to, there is a temporary feeling of betrayal. But, again, this is the business they chose.
INDIANAPOLIS — Recently, a Denver sports star in his mid-20s, who is devoted to the team that drafted him, discovered that his team was talking trade. Oh, come to think of it, this also happened to Jay Cutler.
Yes, one might recall last summer when NBA teams, notably Detroit, inquired about acquiring Carmelo Anthony.
"At first, it was like, 'What the (expletive) is going on,' " the Nuggets' Anthony said Sunday. "But you don't really know what's going on."
Nuggets executives will never send an opposing exec to voice mail, so when teams asked about trading for Anthony, it was their job to at least listen. But when word got out that Denver even considered a Melo trade, he wasn't pleased.
And so, Anthony could relate to the emotions involving the Broncos' quarterback, who learned Friday he was part of a proposed three-team deal with Tampa Bay and New England, although it never materialized.
"You got to learn that it is a business, especially with him," said Anthony, who last summer was ultimately reassured by Nuggets exec Rex Chapman that Denver wouldn't trade him. "(Cutler) has been the guy who they've been saying could be the next (John) Elway perhaps. (Trade rumors) are always a tough situation because you don't know where it's coming from, who's saying it, if it's true, if it's false. That was my big thing this summer. Just let me know, so I can get my mind off thinking about where it's coming from and who's saying it and who's not saying it."
With players, understandably, there is a respect factor involved. The fact that their team would consider a trade can be insulting and humbling. But, as Nuggets coach George Karl said: "Jay's got to understand there have been a lot greater players than him that have been talked about in trades. When the contracts are so big, every player is probably discussed."
Karl was critical of Cutler's comments to The Denver Post, when the quarterback said: "I don't play for the coaches anyway; I play for teammates."
Said Karl: "That comment is way out of control. . . . I don't think that sits with the team concept."
Sometimes, as Anthony can relate to, there is a temporary feeling of betrayal. But, again, this is the business they chose.