Carmelo Anthony to New Orleans trade rumors heat-up, if only in the internet echo chamber

Carmelo Anthony, sailing away?

There's a novel idea starting to get some online buzz: If the Nuggets can't get the entire league to negotiate a Rubik's Cube of perfect-storm, planets-aligned trade talks because they're dealing with Russian mogul and Michael Jordan types, they'll simply simplify.

To spin Mark Twain, rumors that a Carmelo Anthony trade is dead have been greatly exaggerated.

Yesterday we told you about how the Nuggets might ditch the four-team swap in favor of dealing directly with the New Orleans Hornets, where Anthony would be happy to hook up with his buddy Chris Paul. That trade could potentially bring Peja Stojakovich to Denver for a year, and according to this Dimemag report, the Nuggets might also net the Hornets' other starting forward, David West, in the trade:

Another recent trade rumor has Melo going to the Hornets. You know he and Chris Paul are tight, and New Orleans has at least one huge trade chip with Peja Stojakovic's $15 million expiring contract. The Nuggets might try to get David West from N.O., seeing as Kenyon Martin is near the end of the road.

Of course, it's possible that things have cooled now that Anthony and George Karl had their man-to-man yesterday. And the Hornets still face the Herculean task of addressing the La La in the room.