Carmelo trade talks heat up again

The Nets, Pistons and Nuggets have resumed "serious discussions" on a trade that would send Carmelo Anthony to New Jersey, two sources close to the situation said Friday.

A major reason the three-team talks involving more than 10 players and multiple draft picks broke down earlier this week was Denver's insistence on including Al Harrington in the deal, a source said. Harrington is owed $28 million over the final four years of his contract, which the Nets are reluctant to assume. The Nuggets spent most of the week searching for a fourth team while also entertaining offers from the Houston Rockets.

Any deal involving New Jersey is unlikely to be completed before Monday. The Nets play three games over the next four days and would be significantly undermanned for one or more of those games because of the number of players in the deal. However, with Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov scheduled to fly to the United States for Wednesday's home game against Utah, New Jersey is hoping to have a deal in place by then.

Should the sides agree to terms, two sources said the Nets are prepared to send a contingent that would include Prokhorov, minority owner Jay-Z and GM Billy King to Denver to persuade Anthony to sign a contract extension with New Jersey.

Yahoo! Sports reported on Friday that Anthony would need to be sold on New Jersey's future plans before he agreed to any extension.