Donnie Walsh said the reason the Nuggets are reluctant to make a trade with the Knicks is they don't covet the players on New York's roster, not because Denver thinks the Knicks used back-channels to recruit Carmelo Anthony.

"Oh no. I don't think that's true," Walsh said. "My understanding is they don't want to deal with us because they don't think we have the players that fit their team."

"That's today and yesterday it was a done deal," Walsh said about the trade that would have sent Anthony to New Jersey but fell apart on Tuesday.  "I think there's a lot of posturing going on out there."

"We don't know the value of these players and the league doesn't know the value of these players," Walsh said, in speaking generally on the subject of Denver's lack of interest in New York's trade pieces. "I feel if we get into the season, the value of the players will go up."

"In general, I've heard that New York just doesn't have the pieces. We have the pieces, you just don't know it," Walsh said.

With the trade that would have sent Anthony to New Jersey now dead, Amar'e Stoudemire has renewed optimism about the prospect of his friend joining him in New York.

"That would be great," Stoudemire said. "But right now, we have to focus on what we have here.  We can't have any distractions."