CLEVELAND — As trade rumors swirl around his team, Nuggets all-star forward Carmelo Anthony said he is behind whatever the organization decides to do.
“I like the team right now,” Anthony said Sunday morning at the Nuggets’ shootaround. “But if we have to do something to make us better, then I’m all for it.”
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 21. Players whose names have been included in trade talks are Sacramento’s Ron Artest, Memphis’ Mike Miller and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Sam Cassell.
“I don’t really know at this point what we need or what we’re looking for,” Anthony said. “It’s been a lot of trade talk out there with Mike Miller and Ron Artest and things like that. I don’t really know how true that is. But I try to tell my team, let’s just keep our heads, stay together and don’t try to worry about trade rumors. Ain’t nothing happened yet.”
Denver’s Eduardo Najera and Linas Kleiza have been mentioned as trade bait, but they aren’t worried about it.
“I do what I do,” Kleiza said. “Some things are out of my control. If it happens, it happens. Everything happens for a reason. I read a good quote by (Dallas guard) Jerry Stackhouse. He said, ‘These checks cash in all the states.’ ”
Reconciling the record.
Given the Nuggets’ 31-19 record, criticism of his team is partly irritating but also understandable to coach George Karl.
“I think 31-19, if you would have put in any of the last 20 years we would have been happy,” Karl said. “But because of the circumstances of the specialness of the West, we’re tight. So, OK, does that mean we’re having a bad year? Well, 19 out of 20 years we’d be feeling good about ourselves. But there’s no question these games are very important, and it’s been that way for two or three weeks. To do it with three of your top seven players missing most games, I think it’s a (good) season.”
Footnotes.
Steven Hunter missed Sunday’s game because of inflammation in his right knee, a recurrent problem for him this season. He had the knee drained Friday and is day to day. . . . Chucky Atkins, who had sports hernia surgery Jan. 11, said he expects to start on-court work in a couple of weeks.
Chris Dempsey
