Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony will sit out the first two games of next season, a suspension levied by the team Monday for his arrest in April for suspicion of driving under the influence.
The Nuggets announced their decision a few hours after Anthony, as expected, was selected to the U.S. Olympic team. Also Monday, Anthony spoke publicly for the first time since the season ended and requested that management assure him he won’t be traded.
“That’s the only thing that I want,” Anthony said in a telephone interview. “I felt like I’ve been committed to them and showed my loyalty to them and to the city and state. I would like the same thing in return. I would rather them be honest with me and just let me know.”
Nuggets management has said it won’t talk publicly about trade rumors. Anthony’s agent, Calvin Andrews, has said several times that the Nuggets have told him they have no intention of trading his client.
“I’m getting assurances,” Andrews said again Monday.
NBA sources have said the Nuggets will listen to trade discussions about any player as they seek to improve their roster, but will not consider moving Anthony unless they are overwhelmed by an offer.
Anthony is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court today for his arraignment. A plea bargain has been worked out with Anthony’s attorney, Dan Recht, and the prosecution, for Anthony to plead guilty to the lesser offense of driving while ability impaired, according to Recht. In addition to the guilty plea, Anthony will receive an additional three points in traffic offense, giving him a total of 11 for the incident, according to Recht.
Recht stressed that Anthony isn’t getting preferential treatment.
Recht said, “He’s not getting anything the average Joe on the street wouldn’t get.”
Recht said Anthony will not get jail time and that people charged with first-offense DWAI generally don’t.
Assuming the judge agrees with the plea agreement, Anthony’s punishment, in addition to the 11 points on his license, will be community service, a course in alcohol treatment and court costs and fines, Recht said. Also, Anthony’s driver’s license will remain suspended until he completes the 90 suspended days given to him at the beginning of the legal process.
As for his basketball career, Anthony, 24, said the rumors about him being a candidate to be traded could be put to rest by the Nuggets making a public statement. That’s a rare request few teams would agree to do.
“The only thing I can do is keep working on my game,” Anthony said, “and if they decided to trade me and they feel like they want to go in a different direction, I take my hat off and wish them the best.
“I don’t really try to feed into (rumors), because I know how rumors work, and every summer it’s different. The only time I would get insulted is if there’s truth to it. If I have a meeting with those guys and they say, ‘We’re thinking about trading you,’ then I will be insulted. Then I’d feel like I’m not welcomed there no more.”
The Melo debate has been fascinating since the team’s season-ending sweep by the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. After the Game 3 loss, Anthony said, “We quit” in reference to the team and the coaching staff. Most observers felt he did not play as well against the Lakers this spring as he did a year earlier against the Spurs in a first-round playoff loss.
“I kind of get insulted when people say, ‘He took a step back,’ or things like that, because I feel like I’ve put in a lot of hard work to be where I’m at right now,” Anthony said in the phone interview from Chicago. “The only thing is I’m embarrassed about not winning the game. That’s the only thing I have my head down for and beat myself up on.
“This time of year, I get a chance to evaluate what happened last year, what I did wrong, what I did good, and try to turn all my wrongs into goods. This is a real crucial point of my offseason, evaluating everything. When we lose, I put the pressure on myself, and I start beating myself up, saying I didn’t do this or that.”
Anthony was fourth in the NBA in scoring this past season and made the all-star team for the second consecutive year, but drew heavy media criticism for his play during the playoffs and his conduct the week before, when he received the DUI.
Asked for his reaction when he hears people say he needs to mature more, Anthony said: “Mature more, meaning what? I don’t feel like I did anything wrong. I own up to my mistakes. The (DUI) incident I had, I didn’t blame anybody. As far as being more mature, how can somebody say that? I don’t understand when they say that. What can I do?”
Anthony is expected to be in the courtroom today. While he awaits his punishment from the court, he knows he will miss the first two regular-season games.
“We take drinking and driving very seriously,” said Mark Warkentien, the Nuggets’ vice president of basketball operations, in a statement released by the team. “Carmelo admits he made a serious lapse in judgment and has expressed his sincere remorse numerous times.”
Representatives for Anthony said the all-star will partner with the Colorado State Patrol in its statewide initiative called “Alive At 25,” which educates young students and adults about driving responsibly. Anthony will participate in numerous facets, most notably school assemblies and a public service announcement.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
