The Week That Was...

What a week this has been!

First Esperanza Spalding beats out Justin Bieber for best new artist, but that's okay, Bieber Nation, because I bet she's never been an MVP! Last night we saw Jevale McGee dunk three balls, Serge Ibaka dunk from beyond the foul line, Blake Griffin jump over a car...but finally we can get back to the most important topic at hand.

Where will Carmelo wind up?

'Melo, if you or your agents or your wife happen to be reading this, hold up! Before you finish packing for your move to one side of the Hudson River or another, I think you ought really consider staying right where you are with the Nuggets - and here is why:

For years, when anyone would analyze the relative strength of the two conferences, the West would come out on top - and that remains true to this day. But when you look further down the road, you may see a change on the horizon. In the East, the five top teams are Boston, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta and Chicago. The Bulls are basically a young team that could contend for many years. The Magic are young, and could contend for years. The Heat are young, and were built to contend for years. The Hawks should be in position to contend for years. Only the Celtics are a predominantly veteran team.

But when you look at the Western Conference, the opposite is true. As good as the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, and defending champion Los Angeles Lakers are, they are much more seasoned teams than those younger teams in the East. Or more specifically stated, when Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kobe Bryant can no longer perform at the levels to which we have been accustomed, their teams will no longer be automatic title contenders. Among the top teams in the West, only Oklahoma City is a young team...which means that there could very well be opportunity for new teams to emerge from the West, in a manner that might not be the case in the East.

My belief is that the always tough-to-beat at home Nuggets - with Anthony, a still vibrant Chauncey Billups, a beast-becoming Nene, the improving Arron Afflalo, wild card offensive terror J.R. Smith, and contributions from Kenyon Martin, Ty Lawson, and Birdman, and perhaps a key free-agent addition - could make their way to the upper echelon of the Western Conference faster than the Knicks or Nets could with the addition of Anthony to their depleted post-trade rosters.

So Carmelo, you might consider calling off the dogs. As one young Dorothy found out, there's no place like home.