We’re all frustrated and tired of the reports and rumors regarding Carmelo Anthony. But I’m here to tell you a Knicks-Nuggets trade will happen. Whether it be within the next hour or an hour before the NBA trade deadline, the Knicks will acquire Carmelo Anthony.

The uncertainty surrounding the situation is about who the Knicks will be giving up in the deal. The Knicks’ current offer to the Nuggets is Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton and a future first-round pick. The Nuggets are pushing for the inclusion of Timofey Mozgov in the trade, but the Knicks aren’t budging. If the Knicks were to include Mozgov, reports are the Nuggets would turn around and trade him and either Gallinari, Chandler or Felton to the Nets for two first-round picks.

The Knicks may not be budging on the inclusion of Mozgov in the trade, but that isn’t a deal-breaker. The reason for this is because the Knicks are the only team left in this thing.

The Nets are out. Carmelo is not signing an extension with the Nets. Prokhorov and the Nets know this. The media may not be reporting that the Nets are out, but if Carmelo was open to signing an extension with the Nets he would already be playing in Newark by now.

And there’s no way Carmelo stays in Denver. Carmelo and the Nuggets are universes apart. There’s no repairing that relationship.

So, Carmelo is not going to agree to an extension with the Nets, he’s not going to sign the extension with the Nuggets, and the Nuggets aren’t going to hold on to him and get nothing in return when he leaves in free agency. Also, other teams outside of the Nets and Knicks aren’t getting involved.

That leaves the Knicks.

And that leaves the Nuggets needing the Knicks.

The closer to the deadline this lingers, the more leverage the Knicks have because of reasons previously mentioned.

The Knicks could facilitate the trade faster by including Mozgov, but why? The Nuggets will be sweating at 2:00 p.m. on February 24.

And they’ll accept the Knicks’ offer.

The parameters have been set in the talks between the Knicks and Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks are willing to part with Wilson Chandler or Danilo Gallinari and a source with knowledge of the situation said that including a Raymond Felton-Chauncey Billups swap would not be a deal-breaker.

The issue at hand is the precarious decision to complete a blockbuster deal that involves even more players, perhaps rookies Timofey Mozgov and Landry Fields, and dramatically jumbles the roster, the starting lineup and the rotation with 28 games left — and very little time for practice — after the Feb. 24 trade deadline.

Getting ‘Melo makes either Gallo or Chandler expendable. Inserting ‘Melo into the Knicks’ lineup in place of one of those two players makes the Knicks a better team. The question is whether Denver’s asking price will go down the closer we get to the Feb. 24 trade deadline. If the Knicks’ offer on Feb. 23 is Gallo or Chandler, Curry and a first-round pick they get from another team for Anthony Randolph, do the Nuggets turn that down?

According to a team source close to the negotiations, “there is a deal to be made” but whether Anthony joins forces with Amar’e Stoudemire in New York between Tuesday and the Feb. 24 trade deadline likely comes down to the Nuggets either lowering their asking price or the Knicks turning over their roster to acquire one of the NBA’s top players.

The Nuggets, according to a source, are asking for three starters – including Danilo Gallinari and Raymond Felton – plus Eddy Curry’s expiring contract and at least one first-round pick. In that proposed deal, Anthony and veteran point guard Chauncey Billups would be coming to the Knicks.

It is believed that Walsh and Mike D’Antoni feel the team would be giving up too much.

Will the Nuggets’ asking price go down hours before the Feb. 24 trade deadline? If they are convinced Anthony won’t sign an extension in Denver it may, but Denver seems set on getting a lot back in a deal for Carmelo Anthony. Will Denver’s stubbornness hurt them in the end if they don’t trade him and he bolts for New York as a free agent leaving them in the dust with nothing? We’ll see.

Rosen writes:

Danilo Gallinari is a streaky shooter with a questionable handle and slow-footed defense. If he played anywhere else but New York he’d never be touted as a future superstar.

Since entering the league in 2008, people have said that Gallo could eventually become a player like the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki. It seems, however, that talk of Gallo becoming a superstar has dissipated. Gallo is young, skillful and can still improve and become a very good player, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll become a “superstar” per se. The good thing is that the Knicks don’t need him to be a superstar for them to be successful. If the Knicks were to have a guy of Gallo’s skill level as the fourth or even fifth best player on its team, it would be in a really good position.

Also, not that this means anything about how others rate Gallinari, but it should be noted that he doesn’t see himself as a superstar.

Kubatko assessed what Carmelo’s impact would be to the Knicks and concluded:

Anthony is obviously a very good player, but his inefficient shooting prevents him from being in an elite class with other forwards like Kevin Durant, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki. Adding Anthony to the Knicks would probably make them a better team, but not a great one.

It’s hard to make a judgement on this without knowing whether the Knicks would acquire Carmelo via trade or free agency. If you add Carmelo to this currently constructed team through free agency, this team has a chance to be special. Surrounding Carmelo and Amar’e Stoudemire with shooters like Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and Landry Field would make this team a top team in the Eastern Conference. If the team has to forfeit guys like Chandler, Gallinari and/or Fields in a trade for Carmelo, the team obviously won’t be as good as it could have been with those players.

Carmelo is a top player in this league and has done wonders for the Nuggets since being drafted. Pairing him up with Amar’e would make this team very good. Good enough for a championship? That all depends on the pieces surrounding those two players. No matter how the Knicks acquire Carmelo, I think the team is better with him than without him.