Notes on a pink slip …
And now for the two words you don’t want to say right now at the Pepsi Center. What’s that? No, not Kenyon Martin.
Luxury tax.
For all the uncertainty surrounding the Nuggets, one thing seems clear: Stan Kroenke isn’t interested in paying the NBA’s luxury tax for a so-so team.
Which brings us back to Martin. If the Nuggets unload him, it would be for another team’s big-money problem player or a package of lower-priced players whose combined salaries match Martin’s. Either way, the Nuggets would get little or no salary cap relief and, in all likelihood, no starting power forward.
Nene could fit that description, but he comes with strings attached. He’s a restricted free agent and, even after major knee surgery, could command upward of $10 million a year on the market. Add Carmelo Anthony’s looming max-out deal into the mix and the Nuggets, if they re-signed Nene, would be headed for luxury tax purgatory. …
Given the current state of the Nuggets, it’s difficult to be critical of Kroenke for firing Kiki Vandeweghe. But Kroenke can’t possibly put all the team’s problems on his former GM. The Nuggets’ players make ridiculous money, sit in cushy leather chairs, order lunch, play video games, access the Internet and send out their dry cleaning, all from the comfort of the locker room. Yet they didn’t come to play every night. Not only that, the turmoil in the locker room was palpable for much of the season. Sorry, but that’s on the coach, not the GM. …
Can’t be sure, given the culture of secrecy surrounding Kroenke, but I’m pretty sure I’m right on this one. Down the list of reasons Vandeweghe fell out of favor with his boss is he didn’t look the part. Kroenke’s typical M.O. is a pinstripe suit.
Vandeweghe? I’d bet Reggie Bush’s parents’ house that Kiki doesn’t own a pinstripe suit. …
Not that the Martin signing was the No. 1 factor in Vandeweghe’s demise, but the Nuggets last season were 25-31 with Martin in the lineup, 19-7 without him. Not only that, they scored 104.1 points a game and shot .482 without him, and scored 98.6 and shot .452 with him. …
John Daly gambled away $50 million to $60 million in Las Vegas? Please. If he lost that kind of jack, Vegas would have been renamed Johnstown by now. And he’d be living on the top floor of a Vegas hotel, a la Howard Hughes, with showgirls fanning him with giant feathers and dropping M&Ms in his mouth. …
Have you seen the new “Mission Impossible” movie? No, not that one. The tape of Zach Day pitching seven scoreless innings for the Nationals on Friday night. …
So Billy is succeeding Hootie as chairman of Augusta National. Darn, and I had Ernie in the office pool. …
Teemu Selanne with the Avs in 2003-04: 16 goals, 16 assists, 32 points. Selanne with the Ducks in 2005-06: 40 goals, 50 assists, 90 points. His 58-point increase was the third-highest in the league behind Carolina’s Eric Staal (plus-69) and New Jersey’s Brian Gionta (plus-60). …
The news isn’t all bad for the Red Wings. Why, any day now, I expect them to unveil their Central Division championship banner. Trouble is, virtually every other team in the division finished below the Mendoza Line. …
It’s scary, I’m tellin’ ya. The similarities between Jay Cutler and John Elway, that is. Cutler went to Heritage Hills High School, Elway to Granada Hills. Both finished 5-6 in their senior seasons and neither played in a bowl game. Oh, and did I mention Cutler was born in 1983 three days after Elway was the top pick in the NFL draft? …
Playing QB for the Broncos is like being a politician: You get four years to produce – or else. Brian Griese got four years, 1999-2002, before Mike Shanahan dumped him. Now comes Jake Plummer, who’ll go into his fourth season with the Bronx with Cutler looking over his shoulder.
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
