San Antonio – Having zigzagged through one of the wilder seasons in team history, the Nuggets have turmoil down pat.
Now, after getting bounced from the playoffs in five games by San Antonio, several Nuggets expressed the same parting wish – to give stability a try.
“I hope there are not a lot of changes, because everybody around here is like a family,” forward said.
, a shooting guard who will likely opt out of his contract but has expressed a desire to return, sounded a similar note.
“We almost got 50 wins, as bad as we played at the beginning of the season,” he said. “The pieces are here for a championship-caliber team. We just got to get some years together.”
The Nuggets played for three coaches and added two players during the season, exporting and and importing Eduardo Najera and Wesley Person.
In light of that tumult, center marveled about what could have been if the team had been steady from the start, especially with coach George Karl in charge. The uncertainty around coaches Jeff Bzdelik and Michael Cooper nearly sunk the Nuggets, who started 17-25 before finishing 32-8 under Karl.
The slow start did cost the Nuggets come playoff time. As the No. 7 seed in the West, they drew the No. 2 seed Spurs, a veteran team used to playoff pressure.
“I don’t think we would have been 17-and-whatever we were at the time before he got here,” Camby said of Karl. “But definitely having a coach in place erases all the doubts about what we had at the beginning of the year – about the contract situations, about the head coach, about who was not going to be here, coaches worrying about job security.
“Coach (Karl’s) credentials speak for themselves. Once he took over this team, we seemed to be going in the right direction. I can’t wait to see how it is when we get off to a fresh start with him in training camp and preseason, where we can really get his philosophies and what he wants us to do.”
After Game 5, Karl did not talk like a man searching for a roster overhaul, either.
“Our team is in a place where, with some tinkering and some improvement and just some commitment, we’ll be better next season,” he said.
If the Nuggets do make a major move this summer, it would likely be through a trade rather than a free agent signing. They likely will be over the salary cap, meaning they can only re-sign their own free agents or sign a free agent with the midlevel exception, which was worth less than $5 million last year.
Karl suggested he would prefer to leave final personnel decisions to general manager Kiki Vandeweghe and his assistants.
“I hope I’m part of the meetings,” Karl said. “I like coaching. I like coaching much more than I like being general manager.”
It would be a surprise if Vandeweghe makes no moves. The team could make a run at a new starting shooting guard, which appears to be the primary need.
Camby said he welcomes reinforcements, but “definitely no subtractions. An addition, probably. But I like our guys. I like what we have. We have good guys, guys with good character, guys who know how to play, a lot of guys with a lot of experience. I hope everyone comes back, but I know things happen.”
Footnotes
Martin, who will likely have surgery to repair his left knee within a week, said he plans to be fully healthy by next season. “That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing,” he said. “Hopefully that works.” …
Person, on his pending free agency and whether he might return to Denver: “You just got to wait for the opportunity. See what’s out there. It’s a long process. If the situation is right … coming back here.”
Another of Denver’s free agent shooting guards, , said: “I love it here in Denver. I love my teammates. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. I don’t really know what’s going to happen.”
Change is constant in the NBA. But unlike last season, the coach has a long-term contract. So do core players like Camby, Martin, , and . With the season over, Vandeweghe thanked them all.
“There are a lot of heroes in this season,” he said. “George Karl. . Kenyon. Melo certainly turned his whole life and game around. Earl. Andre. Najera was great. A lot of good things happened. Last year, we had a lot of controversy at the end. This year, we didn’t have that and we have things to build.”
Staff writers Chris Dempsey and Marc J. Spears contributed to this report.
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or thompson@denverpost.com.
