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Nuggets Close to Extension on Karl, Want Nene, Smith Back

February 24, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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DENVER — Carmelo Anthony might be gone, but Nuggets coach George Karl is closing in on a contract extension.

Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said after Thursday night’s 89-75 win over Boston that negotiations are nearly complete on bringing Karl back for next season.

“We’re pretty close on that,” Kroenke said in an interview with FanHouse. “We’ve been doing that throughout the process and we just had to cut it off at times because we had to focus on Melo.”

The Nuggets started negotiations in December on bringing back Karl, in the last year of his contract. There were some delays due to trade talk regarding Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who was dealt Tuesday to New York.

“Hopefully, soon,” Kroenke said about when a deal on Karl will be announced. “George is somebody we want to keep here and, obviously, you can see him (Thursday), he does a great job with what he has. We’ll hopefully get something done. We want George here for a long time.”

Kroenke declined to speculate on the length of Karl’s contract extension, but sources previously have said three years is the expected number. FanHouse had reported last month Karl would return to the Nuggets next season, with Anthony being traded not being a factor.

 

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Karl, Nuggets Still Eyeing Playoffs

February 22, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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DENVER — George Karl isn’t just pointing toward making the playoffs. He’s talking about winning a postseason series in his now Meloless world.

Keep in mind the Nuggets went just 2-7 in playoff series in Carmelo Anthony‘s seven seasons in Denver. Both series wins came in 2009, when the Nuggets made the Western Conference finals and the only season since 1994 in which they’ve won even one postseason series.

Nevertheless, with Denver being in the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference playoff race as the blockbuster deal was done to ship Anthony and veteran leader Chauncey Billups to New York, the Nuggets coach is talking big.

“I might be crazy, but I think we can make the playoffs and I also think we can be a threat to win in the playoffs,” Karl said Tuesday. “I’m sorry. I just think our guys are good enough to grow up fast and to learn quick.”

Karl seems to have it all figured out for his Nuggets (32-25), who entered Tuesday night’s game against Memphis at the Pepsi Center in third place in the Northwest Division, 4 ½ games behind first-place Oklahoma City.

 

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George Karl: Ty Lawson Will Start Over Raymond Felton — For Now

February 22, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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DENVER — Raymond Felton has gone from having been a strong All-Star candidate to not even being a starter.

At least that’s the word from Denver coach George Karl.

With the blockbuster trade getting done Tuesday in which forward Carmelo Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups are going to New York, the Nuggets have ended up with Felton, a point guard averaging 17.1 points and 9.0 assists. But that’s not good enough for Felton to immediately start in Denver, where Karl said Ty Lawson, who had been the backup to Billups, will now move into that role.

“As for now, and probably for the next week or two, I’d say Ty will be the starter, and I think you’ll see them play a lot together,” Karl said.

But won’t Felton, who was having a breakout season in his first year with the Knicks, be given an opportunity soon to become the starter?

 

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George Karl: Ty Lawson Will Start Over Raymond Felton — For Now

February 22, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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DENVER — Raymond Felton has gone from having been a strong All-Star candidate to not even being a starter.

At least that’s the word from Denver coach George Karl.

With the blockbuster trade getting done Tuesday in which forward Carmelo Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups are going to New York, the Nuggets have ended up with Felton, a point guard averaging 17.1 points and 9.0 assists. But that’s not good enough for Felton to immediately start in Denver, where Karl said Ty Lawson, who had been the backup to Billups, will now move into that role.

“As for now, and probably for the next week or two, I’d say Ty will be the starter, and I think you’ll see them play a lot together,” Karl said.

But won’t Felton, who was having a breakout season in his first year with the Knicks, be given an opportunity soon to become the starter?

 

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George Karl: Ty Lawson Will Start Over Raymond Felton — For Now

February 22, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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DENVER — Raymond Felton has gone from having been a strong All-Star candidate to not even being a starter.

At least that’s the word from Denver coach George Karl.

With the blockbuster trade getting done Tuesday in which forward Carmelo Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups are going to New York, the Nuggets have ended up with Felton, a point guard averaging 17.1 points and 9.0 assists. But that’s not good enough for Felton to immediately start in Denver, where Karl said Ty Lawson, who had been the backup to Billups, will now move into that role.

“As for now, and probably for the next week or two, I’d say Ty will be the starter, and I think you’ll see them play a lot together,” Karl said.

But won’t Felton, who was having a breakout season in his first year with the Knicks, be given an opportunity soon to become the starter?

 

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What Started With a Kiss Is Now Goodbye From Mark Cuban to Jerry Sloan

February 10, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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George Karl, Jerry SloanDENVER — Perhaps there never have been bigger opposites in the NBA than two who first met during a 2001 playoff series between Dallas and Utah.

“I blew him a kiss,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban remembered about his first encounter with legendary Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.

With Sloan having resigned Thursday midway through his 23rd season on the job, Cuban said in an interview with FanHouse he’s always had great respect for the coach even if their initial meeting might have been a bit awkward from Sloan’s end.

During a game in that 2001 first round, Cuban’s first full season as Dallas owner, he said he ran into Sloan when Jazz guard John Stockton was at the free-throw line.

“Right when I got to the league, nobody knew what to expect from me,” said Cuban, one of the NBA’s more freewheeling guys while Sloan has been one of the more conservative, said before his team faced Denver on Thursday night at the Pepsi Center. “It was in a situation where it was in a playoff series that we ended up winning (with) Calvin Booth (hitting a late jumper in Game 5 to win 3-2). John Stockton went to the line with 2.7 seconds to go.

“While he was shooting his second free throw, I noticed there was 2.0 seconds to go. So I got a little upset. So I went over and I was like, ‘What the hell is wrong with the scorer’s table?’ And (Sloan’s) like, ‘Look at him. What is he doing?’ So I blew him a kiss.”

 

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J.R. Smith Wants to Move on From Latest Incident, Stay in Denver

February 07, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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J.R. SmithDENVER — What is it with guys named J.R.? J.R. Rider always had negatives surface during his playing days, although it continued after he started calling himself Isaiah.

J.R. Smith also has had plenty of negatives during his seven-year career. He did flirt last season with being known by his given name of Earl Smith Jr., perhaps thinking that might soften some headlines, but he soon abandoned that idea.

“For me, it was just more or less people were looking at it as, ‘Well, that’s just J.R. being J.R.,”’ the Denver guard said Monday about his flagrant foul 2 last Friday against Utah that got him a $25,000 fine Saturday. “That’s my first ever flagrant 2.”

Smith said he likely won’t appeal the fine and that he has “no beef” with Jazz guard Deron Williams, who shoved Smith and got a technical and later said Smith made a “dirty play.” He’s just looking to move on, and that definitely doesn’t have anything to do with moving on from the Nuggets.

Smith’s name still has come up in rumors as the Feb. 24 trade deadline approaches. That is despite Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri having told FanHouse before the season he is confident Smith will last the season with the team and despite Ujiri and Smith both telling FanHouse in December the desire is for Smith to re-sign with the Nuggets this summer.

Smith, making a base salary this season of $6.03 million, is due to become a free agent July 1, although any progress then could be delayed by what happens due to the collective bargaining agreement expiring June 30. He told FanHouse on Monday nothing has changed from his end in wanting to remain long-term in Denver.

 

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LaMarcus Aldridge Garnering Support for All-Star Bid

February 02, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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LaMarcus AldridgeDENVER — LaMarcus Aldridge was told George Karl voted for him to be on the All-Star team. Suddenly, the Portland forward’s face lit up like perhaps it never has when it comes to his All-Star prospects.

“He did?” Aldridge said. “Oh, wow.”

That’s what the Nuggets coach said. And Karl’s vote hardly looks outrageous when considering what Aldridge has done lately.

After totaling 18 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday’s 109-90 loss to Denver at the Pepsi Center, Aldridge has averaged 24.7 points and 9.9 rebounds over his past 24 games. That includes 40 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday against San Antonio in a final push to show Western Conference coaches, who vote on the reserves, he deserves a spot in the Feb. 20 game in Los Angeles.

Votes by coaches are due Thursday morning, and the reserves will be announced later in the day. The West is loaded, and it could come down to whether coaches give more credence to a team’s record or statistics.

 

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George Karl Resumes Recruiting Carmelo Anthony to Stay in Denver

January 21, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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George KarlDENVER — George Karl looks primed to get back into the Carmelo Anthony recruiting mode.

At the start of the season, the Nuggets coach talked with his star forward about why he should stay in Denver and at times looked to be working for the chamber of commerce. But with games piling up and trade talks heating up, Karl took a step back.

With a possible trade to New Jersey having fallen apart earlier this week and it not appearing Anthony will be dealt imminently, Karl wouldn’t mind returning to that role soon.

“If that can be worked into the program, I’d love to have that conversation,” Karl before Friday’s game against the Lakers at the Pepsi Center. “I’d love to have that conversation to talk to him about (staying in Denver). What I’d like to do is talk to all his people. I want to know who’s advising him on these other things.”

Karl said Anthony missed Friday morning’s shootaround due to personal reasons. But he had little doubt Anthony would play against the Lakers.

Karl said the timing now is difficult to talk to Anthony with the Nuggets playing Friday and Sunday and then leaving Monday on a five-game trip. But he’s already resumed his recruiting pitch through the media.

 

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Chauncey Billups Finds Out Nuggets Primed to Rebuild, Er, Reinvent

January 20, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony
DENVER — Rebuilding. Reinventing. Call it what you want.

But guard Chauncey Billups didn’t know his Denver Nuggets were a good bet to be doing that until he found himself linked recently to a since-dead possible trade in which he would have gone to New Jersey along with teammate Carmelo Anthony.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Billups said Thursday when asked if that was the first indication he got that the Nuggets look to be entering a rebuilding mode.

The Nuggets appear primed to enter a such a mode if they deal Anthony before the Feb. 24 trade deadline, which is expected. It’s only semantics that Nuggets coach George Karl said he prefers to call it “reinventing.”

If the Nuggets trade Anthony, and Billups remains on the team the rest of the season, don’t be surprised if Billups finds his contract for $14.2 million for 2011-12 bought out after the season for $3.7 million. Denver is leaning that way.

Also, forward Kenyon Martin and guard J.R. Smith will be free agents this summer and center Nene can become a free agent by opting out of his contract. Can you say rebuilding?

Oops. Make that reinventing.

 

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