Nets Kill Talks With Anthony

By Justin Worsley,

The New Jersey Nets have ended communications with the Denver Nuggets to acquire superstar forward Carmelo Anthony in a potential three-team trade.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov called the deal off himself on Wednesday during a press conference.

"The deal has taken too long. It has been taken out in public and it certainly has taken a toll on the players," Prokhorov said on the YES Network. "I believe it has costs us several games."

Most recent rumors had the Nets trying to acquire the 26-year-old Anthony by involving the Detroit Pistons in a three-team trade. New Jersey would also receive Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups in the deal while delivering two draft picks and several players, including point guard Devin Harris and rookie power forward Derek Favors.

The Nets dropped six straight games before winning Wednesday night's contest against the Utah Jazz.

Earlier in the day, the Nuggets granted New Jersey permission to speak with Anthony. Prokhorov had a meeting with Antony on Thursday, however, he promptly canceled the meeting after announcing his decision to end talks with the three-time All-Star.

One of the necessary clauses in the deal was that Anthony would need to sign a three-year contract extension prior to the trade. Anthony, who is set to become a free agent this offseason, did not indicate whether or not he would sign a deal.

Anthony would give the Nets their first superstar under the Prokhorov era. Last offseason, Prokhorov attempted to acquire several marquee free agents such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but to no avail. Prokhorov was hoping he would have better luck with the Brooklyn-native Anthony. The Nets plan on moving the franchise to Brooklyn in 2012.

The deal, however, was potentially doomed from the start. Billups immediately announced after his name was mentioned in the rumor mill that he refused to play for the Nets and no trade was able to materialize.

Anthony has also seen less playing time due to this deal. Nuggets coach george Karl said he could not play Anthony as many minutes because he felt Anthony was "distracted."