Kenyon Martin’s departure from Denver seemed like a sure thing a month ago, but a lot less smoke has been visible from that supposed fire in recent weeks.
Rumors tying the Nuggets power forward to trades with New York, Philadelphia and Dallas all appear to have fizzled, at least publicly. In the meantime, Martin and coach George Karl experienced a moment of detente in Las Vegas last week during the summer league.
All of which raises the question: Could Martin return to Denver for another season?
Training camp doesn’t open for another 11 weeks, so there’s plenty of time for things to change. But day by day, that scenario seems more likely.
Nuggets director of player personnel Mark Warkentien said he speaks with Martin’s agent, Brian Dyke, every few days.
“It’s always more than civil,” Warkentien said.
Warkentien also pointed out that few all-stars attended their teams’ summer league games, as Martin did, along with fellow Nuggets Marcus Camby, Earl Boykins and DerMarr Johnson.
“All my interactions in their entirety have been very normal, very matter of fact,” Warkentien said. “I would characterize it as no different than my interaction with Marcus, my interaction with Boykins, my interaction with D.J. ‘How you doing?’ No big deal.”
If Martin does stay, it could be as much a function of an uninterested market as the player and organization mending fences. Questions are bound to linger about the health of his left knee – and Martin’s claim that the team pushed him back on the court too soon. His well-documented postseason blowup at Karl in front of his teammates at halftime of Game 2 didn’t help.
Then there’s the matter of the nearly $72 million the Nuggets owe Martin.
But the Nuggets’ worst nightmare would be to receive 20 cents on the dollar for a forward who regains full health and is extra-motivated to prove his critics wrong.
Denver continues to come up in discussions for Philadelphia guard Allen Iverson, but at this point the 76ers seem reluctant to take Martin as part of any trade package. But if the Nuggets deal another big man – say, Camby – they may feel more motivated to keep Martin in order to preserve some low-post defensive presence besides Nene, a player also coming off major knee surgery.
Warkentien’s history of not rushing into deals also could be a factor. When he was in Portland, the Trail Blazers did not hurry to jettison Rod Strickland or Isaiah Rider as both became fan pariahs. Instead, Portland waited for better offers and received packages that included Rasheed Wallace for Strickland and Steve Smith for Rider once temperatures cooled. Fans eventually tired of Wallace, too, but the 1999-2000 Blazers posted the NBA’s second-best record, with Wallace and Smith as leading scorers.
If Martin can show his game has returned early next season, perhaps a more amicable divorce is possible. Or maybe he plays well enough to merit keeping him around.
Karl said recently he has been in the league too long to hold grudges. Whether he stays true to those words – and whether Martin can show he can forgive and forget, too – remains to be seen.
Elson update
Warkentien said the Nuggets will evaluate the two-year, $6 million offer sheet San Antonio made to restricted free-agent center Francisco Elson.
Elson signed it Wednesday, though because of delays in transmitting the contract to Denver, the Nuggets’ seven-day period to match did not begin until Thursday.
“We’ll make a decision on day six or seven,” Warkentien said.
Elson’s agent, Calvin Andrews, said he did not know whether the Nuggets would match, though Karl spoke pessimistically about that prospect Wednesday. Elson also sounded prepared to join another team.
“Obviously I expect to get a lot of minutes,” he said Wednesday. “The time that I spent here and the experience that I got from here, hopefully, it carries over to the next team that I’m going to.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears contributed to this report.
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
