The pomp and circumstance of All-Star Weekend is over, but the pomp and circumstance of the Carmelo Anthony trade proceedings aren’t yet.

Blake Griffin’s over-the-car-dunk was an eye opener, but your eyebrows should be near the top of your forehead when you think about all that has happened with the Melo-Drama. We’re not just talking about the last five-plus months, but just the last five days.

More was added today as ESPN reported the Nets are talking to the Nuggets about sending two draft picks to Denver for Timofey Mozgov and Danilo Gallinari if the Knicks acquire Anthony.

The Nets are trying to force the Knicks to give up more than they want and ultimately back out. It might be the Nets’ best chance at getting Anthony because to this point the Knicks haven’t wanted to part with Mozgov.

If the Knicks say no, then Denver will make the deal with the Nets and then it’s on Anthony to accept or reject a three-year, $65 million extension.

If not, the Nets made the Knicks pay more than they wanted to by giving up four rotation players in Mozgov, Gallinari, Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler. And then the Nets can make a trade for a couple players who can help them and then move Devin Harris to Portland in a package that includes Andre Miller.

It’s a shrewd move, but it’s calculated. You would expect this from Mikhail Prokhorov. He didn’t make $22.7 billion by not being smart.

But this is just the latest in a story that has been dizzying and confusing and entertaining and provocative, but also filled with out-and-out falsehoods.

The Nets go from being out of the Anthony sweepstakes to talking to Denver again last week. Then we learn the Nets and Nuggets finally have a tentative agreement on a trade involving Anthony, pending his commitment to sign a three-year, $65 million extension.
 
From there it just turned more bizarre and into theater of the absurd where you can’t believe anything Anthony, Prokhorov and the Knicks’ organization is saying.

Anthony said he’s not meeting with the Nets and Knicks over All-Star Weekend. Turns out he met with both teams.

Prokhorov, through a spokesperson, said he doesn’t plan to meet with Anthony. They met a few hours later.

The Knicks released a statement that Dolan, president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni are working together and in agreement on what they’re doing. Yet reports continue to say Dolan is consulting former Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas on all 'Melo matters.

(Don’t forget, Dolan tried to hire Thomas as a consultant over the summer, recruited him to talk to LeBron James during free agency and Walsh thanked Thomas for his help during Amar’e Stoudemire’s introductory press conference. Sounds like Thomas is very much involved).

Prokhorov did an interview with CNBC and basically said the Nets did a good job of driving up the price for the Knicks. It sounded like a concession, but it wasn’t necessarily. There probably was some truth in that statement as well as some major spin.

That’s what will be almost as interesting as each of the events in the Anthony timeline to this point is how everyone will spin things when this is all over, and it will be over soon.

The trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m., which leaves plenty of time for more drama.

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Follow me on Twitter: @Al_Iannazzone

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Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)