The widely held belief has been that any team that acquires Carmelo Anthony in a potential trade with the Nuggets would look to sign the forward to a contract extension as part of any deal.

That may not be true, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

"Ridiculous," one Western Conference general manager said when asked about demanding an extension prior to a deal.

"A handful of team executives consulted this week by ESPN.com believe there are more than a few teams in circulation that would be willing to trade for Melo without getting his name on an extension, even though the risk of losing Anthony without compensation in July is precisely why countless league observers believe the Nuggets will eventually have to give in and give him up," Stein writes.

Stein goes on to mention the Mavericks and Rockets as teams that might be willing to simply rent Anthony for the second half of the season.