It’s tough for New Yorkers to think about hoops at this time of year. After all, the season ended for the Knicks and Nets months ago, and baseball mania has once again swept over the city – a sign of summer just around the corner.

Nevertheless, today is a significant day for both N.Y. locals, as the NBA will hold its draft lottery tonight to determine the order of the June 26th draft. And while the Knicks have stolen the majority of headlines recently (first with the hiring of Donnie Walsh and the dismissal of Isiah Thomas, then with the hiring of coach Mike D’Antoni), the Nets may be the team poised to make the bigger splash, if a report in the New York Post is to be believed.

According to the Post, Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe is wasting no time remodeling his roster, and he’s turning to some familiar faces in the process. League sources have indicated that the Denver Nuggets have made Carmelo Anthony available – for the right price – and the Nets hope that a favorable bounce of the lottery balls this evening could grant them an important chip in the trade market.

The deal that the Post discusses consists of a swap of Richard Jefferson, Marcus Williams, and N.J.’s draft pick in exchange for ‘Melo and Marcus Camby. Even in the unlikely event that the lottery vaults the Nets into a top-3 slot, I’m not sure I see how this helps Denver a whole lot. Are they building around Allen Iverson now? And does anyone think that’s a wise decision? Is Richard Jefferson a better fit in that offense, and do the defensively-challenged Nuggets have an answer for penetration in the paint without the shot-blocking Camby? This deal makes little more sense to me than the rumored trade that would have sent Zach Randolph to Denver at the trade deadline, but I suppose time will tell.