As the Melo turns: fact vs. fiction

Carmelo Anthony is still a Nugget. He will still be a Nugget Thursday night, when Denver plays San Antonio.
How long will he be a Nugget? Long enough for Denver management to assess all its options and get the best possible deal for the three-time All-Star.
That could take a while. This has been going on since September, so what's the rush?
The breathless speculation over when and where Anthony will be traded took a bizarre turn in the past 14 hours or so, with a Denver television station reporting that the Nets and Nuggets had "come to an understanding" on a trade, then backtracking, then posting a story on its website Wednesday saying the Nets "have the pieces in place for a potential trade," with a note at the end of the story saying the station "stands by this story."
Really? Which one?
Here are the facts: The Nets have been putting the pieces in place to acquire Anthony for three months, and they took a major step toward sweetening their offer by acquiring two more first-round picks in a trade with the Rockets and Lakers, which was completed Wednesday. The Nets' efforts to land Anthony have always been -- and will always be -- contingent on Anthony agreeing to sign a three-year, $65 million extension as part of the deal.
"It hasn't gotten there," a person directly involved in the trade discussions told CBSSports.com Wednesday. "And I don't know when it's going to get there, if it's going to get there."
In other words: chill.
Another fact: The Nuggets continue to engage the Nets and other teams in trade discussions, because that is their job. And as CBSSports.com reported last week, the team has all but decided it will trade Anthony if he does not signal his intentions to sign an extension with them before the Feb. 24 trade deadline. Anthony told CBSSports.com Saturday that he doesn't believe he needs to apprise the Nuggets of his decision on the extension before the deadline. Thus, the Nuggets are handling their business -- making and receiving trade calls -- and the Nets are continuing to amass as many assets as they can, some of which Denver specifically asked for in an Anthony trade.
Again, it comes back to whether Anthony will agree to an extension in a trade that sends him to New Jersey. A person directly involved in Anthony's decision-making process told CBSSports.com Sunday that he recently became entrenched in his belief that, if traded, he would only agree to an extension if sent to the Knicks. A rival team executive corroborated that information Tuesday, telling CBSSports.com that the Nets "got word that Melo will not sign there. They can't get it done."
The Nets, who now have five first-round picks in the next two drafts, continue to proceed on the information they've received from Anthony's camp -- that he would extend with them as part of a trade.
Those are the facts. They're messy and complicated and can't be explained in a breathless tweet followed by an exclamation point. As the Nuggets gathered for practice and scouting meetings Wednesday, a person involved in the process said players and management officials alike were "laughing" at speculation that a trade agreement had already been reached.
"Sad," is how the official described the current state of affairs.
And he used another word:
"Comedy".

extracted from cbssports.com