Milestone No. 10: The Nuggets trade away Carmelo Anthony in a blockbuster deal
Mar 30, 2025, 6:12 PM
The Fan is turning 30! For three decades, the station has been covering Denver sports, serving as a media outlet of record for the biggest events over the past 30 years.
There have been a lot of them. From championships to MVPs, from historic seasons to improbable victories, The Fan has been there for all of them.
What were the best of the best? During a six week span, Denver Sports will chronicle the moments that stood out the most. It’s a countdown from No. 30 to No. 1, in a series called “Mile High Milestones.”
Enjoy the trip down memory lane!
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It all started with a toast at a wedding. Or perhaps that actually where it all came to an end.
On July 11, 2010, Carmelo Anthony was in New York City. He was marrying La La Vasquez, the MTV star to whom he’d been engaged since Christmas Day 2004.
At the nuptials, Chris Paul made a now-infamous toast. Coming off of LeBron James’ “Decision” to join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, the Hornets point guard quipped that he, Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire would soon be forming their own “Big Three” in the Big Apple.
Plenty of Nuggets brass were in attendance, including team owner Stan Kroenke. Needless to say, it made for an awkward moment for all involved.
At that point, Denver had offered their superstar a max contract. A three-year, $65-million deal was on the table, but Anthony had yet to sign it.
That made people nervous. And led to a lot of speculation.
Those in the Nuggets camp suggested that Melo wanted out. Vasquez was trying to further her career, so she wanted to move to New York City to pursue opportunities in television and on stage.
Anthony had suggested that he wanted to be sure that Denver wasn’t entering a rebuilding phase. He wanted to know that the Nuggets were in it to win it.
That seemed odd, given that the franchise had just played in the Western Conference Finals at the end of the 2008-09 season. But the way the next year unfolded left many things up in the air.
Denver had started the season vying with Los Angeles, the team that beat them in the playoffs the year before and the defending NBA champions, for the top spot in the West.
It all unraveled after the All-Star break, however. George Karl coached the Western Conference in that game, with the Nuggets sitting at 35-18. But following the week off, it was revealed that the head coach would be taking a leave of absence after being diagnosed with throat cancer. Adrian Dantley would take his place on Denver’s bench.
It didn’t go well. The Nuggets went 18-11 down the stretch, tumbling down the standings. But they finished tied for fourth in the conference, behind the Lakers, Mavericks and Suns. That set up a first-round matchup with the Jazz.
By that point, Denver was a team in shambles. Kenyon Martin was dealing with a knee issue, while also threatening not to play in the postseason after an ill-advised prank by teammate J.R. Smith; K-Mart didn’t take kindly to the white interior of his car being damaged when it was filled with buttered popcorn.
The Nuggets were worried about everything other than playing Utah. And it showed. Dantley couldn’t right the ship and Denver was bounced in the first round, the sixth time in seven years with Anthony on the roster that they’d suffered that fate.
That set the stage for the toast. And put in motion Anthony’s demand to be traded.
Throughout the first half of the next season, rumors swirled about the former No. 3 overall pick wanting to be traded. The Nuggets front office played a cat-and-mouse game with the two frontrunners in the Melo sweepstakes, pitting the Knicks and Nets against each other in a drama that included a Russian oligarch, New Jersey owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
Finally at the All-Star break, with Denver middling at 32-25, a deal was struck. Anthony was sent to New York in a three-team deal that also saw Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Corey Brewer, Anthony Carter and Shelden Williams leave the Mile High City. The Nuggets received Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos.
Denver would rally in the second half of the season, going 18-7 to finish with the No. 5 seed in the West. Once again, however, they’d get bounced in the first round, losing to the Thunder in five games. They’d get bounced in the opening round again the next year, as well.
Two years after the trade, both teams enjoyed the fruits of their efforts, however.
The Nuggets would turn their revamped roster into a 57-win team, the most regular-season victories in franchise history. But a late-season injury to Gallinari would derail their dreams of a deep playoff run; Denver was upset in the first round by the upstart Warriors, kicking off a dynasty in Golden State.
Meanwhile, the Knicks would finish with the No. 2 seed in the East, thanks to a tremendous season from Anthony. Averaging 28.7 points per game, Melo won the NBA scoring title. He also led New York to their first playoff series win since 2000, ending a 13-year drought.
But it all unraveled for both teams after that season. Karl was fired and the Nuggets would miss the playoffs in each of the next five seasons. Anthony wouldn’t win another playoff series in a Knicks uniform.
In the end, both teams won and both teams lost in the trade. As for the Nuggets and Melo, it’s safe to say that both would’ve been better off to mend fences.
Anthony never again enjoyed the kind of perennial team success he did in Denver. And the Nuggets spent a half decade wondering in the NBA desert, searching for another superstar.
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THE COUNTDOWN
30: Ubaldo Jimenez has a magical season
29: Todd Helton get enshrined in Cooperstown
28: Valeri Nichushkin goes missing in the postseason – twice!
27: The Avalanche win their second Stanley Cup
26: The Nuggets come back from two 3-1 deficits in the bubble
25: The seemingly never-ending Broncos ownership saga
24: Hurricane Josh hits the Mile High City
23: The Rockies trade Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals
22: The Nuggets reach the Western Conference Finals in 2009
21: John Elway gets enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
20: The Avalanche hoist third Stanley Cup in franchise history
19: The Avalanche acquire Patrick Roy from the Canadiens
18: The Broncos produce the greatest offensive season in NFL history
17: John Elway joins the Broncos front office to right the ship
16: The Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 1996
15: The Broncos nearly decade-long quarterback carousel
14: The Avs-Red Wings rivalry turns into a bloodbath
13: The Broncos win back-to-back titles during historic season
12: The Broncos suffer one of the worst losses in franchise history
11: The Broncos part ways with head coach Mike Shanahan
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Wanna hear more about this Mile High Milestone? Tune into “The Rundown” at noon or check out the show on YouTube to hear Richie Carni and a special guest take a walk down memory lane.
