Carmelo Anthony Trade Negotiations In Holding Pattern As Nuggets Open Camp

UPDATE: "I'm here man, I'm here today. Practice starts tomorrow and we'll go from there," Carmelo Anthony told the media on the first day of Nuggets training camp.

Dressed in his familiar Nuggets uniform, Melo described his conversation with Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri--the first face-to-face meeting the two have had since Ujiri took over as GM--as "a good... actually a great conversation."

"He has told me how he feels, and I told him how I feel," Ujiri said of the meeting.

Melo insisted he's never said he wanted to be traded, and says he's "keeping [his] options open." He declined to address specifics of talks between his representatives and the Nuggets front office.

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Even after weeks of trade rumors, and "unpleasant" meetings, the Denver Nuggets open camp this week with Carmelo Anthony still on their roster. The team is reportedly even hoping to convince its star forward that staying in Denver wouldn't be the worse thing after all.

Anthony, whose contract expires at the end of the year, has refused to sign a 3-year, $65 million contract extension. Reports all summer have indicated that he hopes to force the Nuggets--who would lose him for nothing if he leaves as a free agent next year--to trade him, preferably to either Chicago or New York.

Last week, reports predicted that the Nuggets would likely have a deal done by the end of the weekend in order to avoid the awkward situation of having a disgruntled superstar in camp.

However, the team put the brakes on negotiations over the weekend in order to fully evaluate its options.

Melo, who has publicly been mum on the issue, is expected directly address the media for the first time on Monday.

(Check Back For Updates)

Check out list of possible trade partners below: