'The Situation' leaves New Jersey in limbo

By Randy Hill
FOXSportsArizona.com

PHOENIX — While Carmelo Anthony continues soliciting votes for the next NBA Geppetto of the Year, we turn our attentions to a few guys currently attached to his strings.

Let's greet the New Jersey Nets, whose bosses have propelled us through a few news cycles by reportedly getting heroically close to prying 'Melo out of Denver. Based on the update you choose to embrace, the mighty Anthony is all set to spend the next several years in Brooklyn (via Newark), hold out for duty with the Manhattan Knicks or become a Nugget for life. Since Jersey is hoping to rival South Beach as the scene of a short-term pro basketball revival, it appears we have gone from The Decision to The Situation.

For now, everyone associated with both teams (in addition to a few citizens in Detroit) has been advised to exhale. But living with the uncertainty can't be easy, even for a roster of millionaires. Trade rumors are a marathon, not a sprint. Nets management, fans and players have been watching this dance with Anthony since September. In terms of the relentless waiting and any corresponding dividends, this seems a bit like anticipating that pesky, overdue economic recovery.

Anyway, according to alleged blabbermouths within the Nets organization, the Nuggets are holding out for quite a stimulus package. They were projected to receive a couple of New Jersey's best players, a parking spot for the contract of Denver reserve forward Al Harrington and a couple of first-round draft picks.

As this season's trading deadline speeds in our direction, at least 14 players not named Carmelo Anthony are attempting to function at a high level with their futures in limbo. Limbo, in case the reference isn't GPS friendly, is sort of like Hell's green room.

And that's where we find the Nets (10-28), who have almost half of their roster at least peripherally involved in this pending 'Melo transaction. The most-coveted Nets referred to earlier — point guard Devin Harris and rookie power forward Derrick Favors — politely declined invitations for Wednesday night pregame chats regarding something they've been obliged to discuss, off and on, for about four months.

Hey, they were busy preparing for an eventual come-from-ahead, 118-109 overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns, who just happen to be associated with another form of limbo. At 16-21, last year's Western Conference finalists have been attempting to see how low they can go.

They were low enough to trail New Jersey by 15 points in the fourth quarter, but — thanks, in part, to the Nets' willingness to keep switching screen-roll and make a mismatch, post-up fiend out of Channing Frye (21 points) — managed to rally and keep the value of the Jersey's first-round pick high enough to interest Denver.

To their discredit, the Nets have been under the limbo stick for a while. The distraction of the Anthony trade rumors may be a bit irritating, but the explanation for those 28 losses can be tracked to their solid status as a bad basketball team.

First-year coach Avery Johnson has spent most of this week reminding reporters that coaxing the players he already has into fits of good basketball is his only concern. Within that context, Johnson said he simply dreams of the day his center (Brook Lopez) is credited with 10 rebounds during the same game. Much like his twin brother, Suns center Robin, Brook rebounds with the vigor of someone who believes the ball has cooties.

Avery must have been pinching himself as Brook snagged four rebounds in Wednesday's opening quarter. OK, Jersey's Lopez finished the game with a pedestrian eight (including OT), so things remained close to normal. Robin, who scored 11 points by intermission (zip in the second half), managed to avoid being charged with any rebounds in the first 24 minutes and had a rousing two for the game.
 
Harris went for 15 points and 15 dimes against Steve Nash (23 and 16), while Favors — who sat down the stretch while both teams went small — had a dozen points and (in Lopez fashion) two rebounds.

So even though it's, well, business as usual for the important Nets on the ground, we still have a few employees potentially in the mix as contract-matching filler. One of those guys is reserve two-guard Quinton Ross, whose expiring $1.1 million tab could be part of a package going to Denver.

"It's pretty much the nature of the business," Ross said of dealing with the uncertainty of where he'll be working next week or next month. "I just try to do my job and let the rest take care of itself."

For some Nets, the hullabaloo attached to the 'Melo mess is no big deal. Power forward Kris Humphries, who backs up Favors, has been romantically linked with Kim Kardashian. Reserve shooting guard Sasha Vujacic is engaged to tennis star Maria Sharapova. It boggles the mind to imagine how well those guys might score in the dating arena if they were good enough to start for the Nets.

By the way, the Nets also employ back-up point guard Jordan Farmar, who — until this season — had a similar gig with the Los Angeles Lakers. Dealing with trade rumors is a breeze compared to what he's been through.

"It's just part of the game, man," Farmer, who has not been listed as a would-be Nugget, said when asked how enjoyable dealing with off-court distractions can be. "I've been through all kinds of media stuff. Kobe (Bryant) is the most recognizable player in world. Lamar (Odom) married Khloe (Kardashian), we had Ron Artest . . ."

Yeah, all that's missing from L.A.'s Staples Center is a trapeze.

"You just have to go out and play basketball," Farmar said about one hour before he had to do just that against the Suns.

OK, so he's immune. But how about the Nets as a waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop collective?

"Not sure," Farmar admitted. "I think everybody's all right."

Well, they did lose to the Suns. That's not easy these days. So, even though an overtime was acquired to achieve this sort of dubious distinction, it seems 'Melo could be a real distraction for the Nets, after all.