Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe emerged from long hours leading up to the NBA trading deadline tired, unshaven and bearing forwards Ruben Patterson and Reggie Evans on Thursday afternoon.
“Both of them on the team is like having three Eddie Najeras,” said an approving Carmelo Anthony, comparing the energy and defense of Patterson and Evans to that of the Denver forward.
The Nuggets also acquired seldom-used guard Charles Smith.
Denver sent guard Earl Watson, swingman Bryon Russell and a second-round draft pick to Seattle and Voshon Lenard to Portland. The SuperSonics shipped Evans to the Nuggets and Vitaly Potapenko to Sacramento. In exchange for Patterson, Smith and Sergei Monia, whom they traded to the Kings, the Trail Blazers received Sacramento’s Brian Skinner.
The three new Nuggets could play tonight in Minnesota if the nine players involved in the four-team swap pass their physicals on time.
“I’m very happy,” Patterson said Thursday night. “It’s a blessing. It’s a dream come true.”
Nuggets coach George Karl called the 6-foot-5 Patterson his new defensive “attack dog,” adding that he had coveted the swingman since his days coaching Milwaukee.
The Nuggets often say any move they make must take defending champion San Antonio into account. Asked about defending Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, Patterson said, “I’d definitely love to take that challenge. I’ve been watching Denver in the playoffs and definitely seen Ginobili give them problems.”
Patterson is averaging 11.4 points and is under contract through 2007. The trade triggered a kicker in his salary worth over a million dollars. He would already be due $6.8 million next season if he exercised his option, which he had said he would do in Portland.
In Evans, Denver receives a rebounding force who lost his starting job this season as the Sonics went with younger players. He is averaging 5.9 points and 6.7 rebounds in limited duty. He will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
“I can tell you all of our guys hate playing against both of those guys, so I knew we were on the right track,” Vandeweghe said.
With Anthony, Francisco Elson and Linas Kleiza his only relatively healthy players up front, Karl welcomed the addition of “two passionate, intense basketball players.”
He called Patterson a good fit on a team that he feels has not played hard enough in recent weeks. He added that Evans could help Denver’s rebounding. Eleven of the Nuggets’ past 12 opponents have outrebounded them.
Patterson arrives with baggage, however, including a history of legal trouble. In 2001 he was charged with attempted rape for allegedly forcing his children’s nanny to perform a sex act. He entered a modified plea that said he did not admit guilt but agreed a jury might convict him. He was forced to register in the state of Washington, and subsequently Oregon, as a sex offender. Colorado state law requires he do the same here.
The forward was convicted for misdemeanor assault in 2001 and arrested on felony domestic abuse charges in 2002, though his wife dropped the charges.
“The past is the past,” Patterson said. “That’s over with. I’m here. I made a mistake. I’m looking ahead, not backwards. I grew up. … I’m going to show the people of Denver that I’m a good guy.”
Vandeweghe said the Nuggets researched Patterson’s past.
“We were comfortable, although it was a definite concern,” he said. “But we’re not going to deny somebody another chance at a new beginning.”
Patterson has also had issues on the court. The Blazers sent him home in the middle of a road trip early this season after what The Oregonian newspaper described as “an animated and expletive-filled” disagreement with his coaches during a November game at New York.
Asked about Patterson’s volatility, Karl said, “Ruben wasn’t in their plans. They’ve made that very clear for months. Anytime a player is told he’s not in a team’s plans, he’s capable of creating a little bit of an attitude problem. Of course, the coach is then responsible to figure that out.”
Patterson seems to have left Portland on good terms. He received a call from coach Nate McMillan wishing him well Thursday morning.
Said Kenyon Martin, who played with Patterson at the University of Cincinnati: “He’s worked his butt off to get to where he is. The kid plays hard. He’s an offensive rebounder. Defender. That’s what everyone says we are lacking around here.”
Calling himself “extremely happy” to join Denver, the 6-8 Evans explained his rebounding skill by saying, “It’s just a matter of trying to be real active. … My main thing is this – if you have a different colored uniform than me, you’re an enemy of mine.”
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
