The Knicks and Nuggets are both extremely motivated to complete a Carmelo Anthony trade by 3:00 PM EST on Thursday, with the Nets sticking around as gadfly bystanders. If a trade is not consummated, it will be considered a gigantic failure.

Because one of the sides will need to budge from their current situation, we can be presented with a situation where Anthony remains on the Denver roster for the remainder of the season and playoffs.
 
So what options do the Nuggets, Knicks, Nets and Anthony have at that point?

Following the deadline, teams are prohibited from trading again until their season is over.

This means NBA trades cannot happen after 3:00 PM on February 24th until April 13th.

Once the regular season is over, however, the 14 teams that do not qualify for the playoffs can resume trading amongst each other. As playoff teams begin getting eliminated, they too become eligible to submit complete trades to the league office for approval.

But players who are are in the final non-exercisable season of their current contract cannot be traded after the deadline through June 30th. This applies to players who are in the final season of their contract, or have an early termination option for the following season.

With these rules as a backdrop, Anthony couldn't be traded after the deadline until July 1st.

But a loophole for Anthony does exist where a trade could happen.

If Anthony were to amend his contact to void his ability to exercise his early termination option, which means he will be under contract for the 11-12 season and can no longer become a free agent on July 1st, he will no longer be considered a "last non-exercisable year" player.

Anthony would do this if he were to participate in an "extend-and-trade", signing a three-year extension for the 12-13, 13-14 and 14-15 seasons.

So even though we have established that Anthony can be traded while receiving an extension after the deadline, there are further complications.

Many of the players who have been in Anthony trade proposals would be ineligible for trade after the deadline. Troy Murphy, Eddy Curry and Wilson Chandler are all "last non-exercisable year" players and therefore could not be traded after the deadline under any circumstance. Finding a trade that would work from a financial perspective and in terms of Denver's asking price on talent, would be extremely difficult.

Furthermore, one aspect of Denver's eagerness for an Anthony trade now is their goal to save a considerable amount of tax money. If the Nuggets were to complete a trade after the deadline would have no effect on their luxury tax bill.

Even though the February 24th deadline is the 'do or die' date for all intents and purposes, there is a small glimmer of possibility for Anthony to get an extension and a trade out of Denver if he remains on his current team's roster on Friday.