Is the Western Conference running out of All-Stars?

Some hours ago, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the New Jersey Nets will be landing Carmelo Anthony any time soon. The Nets will be engaged in a three-team trade with the Detroit Pistons and of course, Carmelo's current team, the Denver Nuggets.

The deal will send Troy Murphy and Johan Petro to the Pistons while the Nets get Melo, Rip Hamilton, Anthony Carter, Chauncey Billups and Shelden Williams. Meanwhile, the Nuggets get two of the Nets' first-round picks, Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, Anthony Morrow, Ben Uzoh, Stephen Graham and Quintin Ross.

Looking at this deal, I'd say the Nets, and the Nuggets to some extent, will benefit from it.

The Nets could use Melo's and Rip's scoring prowess to help them improve one of league's worst offense (currently, 29th in points per game and 28th in offensive rating). In addition, Billups will be a decent replacement for Harris who will be moving to Denver.

As of writing, there are only 6 teams (Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat) with winning records in the Eastern Conference. Which means, there are still two playoff spots up for grabs. The reunion of Rip and Chauncey, plus the outstanding offense of Carmelo, could help the Nets make that strong push for either the 7th or 8th seed. And if they don't make the it this season, barring a lockout, they can work things out during summer to become a force to reckon with in the East.

The Nuggets, on the other hand, get a mix of promising youngsters and tested veterans in return for Melo, which is good since they're on rebuilding mode. Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri could also use the draft picks they acquired from the Nets to discover a new franchise player to replace Anthony.

The Pistons? Well, I'm not quite sure what they're planning to do with Petro and Murphy. I mean, their current roster is already stacked with Forward-Centers. Bargaining chips for big men deprived teams? Perhaps.

One thing bothering me about this trade is the whole Melo-moving-to-the-East-thing. I mean, even if Anthony didn't end up in NJ, he was demanding Nuggets management to ship him to NY.

Amar'e Stoudemire in NY and Melo with the Nets. The West just lost two All-Star starters to the East. And that's excluding Carlos Boozer, a two-time All-Star.

With Brandon Roy being sidelined by a knee injury that could rob him of his All-Star talents, the Western Conference is slowly losing talented players that could help them thwart the beasts of the East come All-Star Game.

No wonder the Chinese keeps voting for Yao Ming, even if he's sidelined with what might be a career ending foot injury. With all these players unavailable, is there anyone else left in the West?

Tim Duncan, Steve Nash and Grant Hill are losing step. Tyreke Evans and Blake Griffin, though impressive, are still wet behind the ears. Dirk Nowitzki might still be out because of some injury. I dunno whatever happened to Chris Kaman. Ron Artest might pull off a Kevin Mchale on Stoudemire. And Brad Miller is very dependent on his crazy playbook.

But this scenario also poses a problem to the Eastern All-Stars. One potential Eastern All-Star might get snubbed once Melo moves to NJ. Since Melo scored a lot of votes from the fans, and given his franchise player status with the Nuggets, coaches might give him some consideration as an All-Star reserve.

So hold your breath Josh Smith. Even if you're playing well this season, you just might get snubbed. Again.

One thing's for sure though. Whoever plays wherever, everybody, save for the Eastern All-Star who'll get snubbed, is in for a good time. Melo gets to play with his buddies Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Stoudemire as an Eastern Conference All-Star. While Anthony's departure guarantees fans a new face in the Western All-Star starting lineup.