It’s July, but it seems like April with all the Nuggets talk around Denver. In the last 10 days, the team lost reserve Eduardo Najera to the New Jersey Nets and traded starting center Marcus Camby to the Los Angeles Clippers for a $10 million trade exception and a swap of second-round draft picks.
But the future is now — at least that’s the way anxious ticket-buyers think.
Denver Post columnist Woody Paige and NBA reporters Benjamin Hochman and Chris Dempsey sat down for a round-table session to discuss the state of the Nuggets. Here are some highlights:
The Camby deal
Hochman: I think there’s going to be a second part to it. The question is — will that happen before the season starts? Because if it doesn’t, I think there are going to be a lot of frustrated fans.
Dempsey: We’ve been talking for two years about the Nuggets getting down to the luxury tax level or under. Marcus Camby has been a part of those conversations. (Owner) Stan Kroenke wasn’t going to continue to pay major luxury tax. The question is — what do they do to fill (the team) in from here? They’re going to have to do something, particularly in the front court.
Paige: They don’t have a plan;they’ve been meeting to develop a plan. If they had a plan, and if you’re smart and want to retain the fans’ following and faith, you’ve got to say: We’ve traded Camby, got a $10 million trade exception, and our plan is to go get, say, the best quality point guard, or replace Camby with two quality $5 million guys. That shows that you have a plan in place. I think you have to do that to ensure that people will say, “Yes, they do have a plan.”
Melo-in-progress
Paige: Carmelo Anthony’s agent assured us he won’t be traded. So what’s going to happen with him? What’s going to make him a better overall player and person?
Dempsey: He’s just obviously going to have to work on his defense. He brings a lot of things on himself, but if you sit here and say Carmelo is not a better player than he was in his first season, then you’re fooling yourself. He is — in a lot of areas. Does he need to be more mature? Yes, he does. Does he need to take more pride in his defense? Yes, he does.
Hochman: A big debate is, is Carmelo the team leader or just the future of the team? They’re not banking on him being this torch-bearing leader. That’s why when you look at Allen Iverson, you ask, “Is he that guy?” He and Carmelo are good friends, but are they the wrong mix?
Iverson’s role
Paige: Do you believe that Allen Iverson could take a subordinate role to Carmelo?
Dempsey: He gives a lot of lip service to wanting to just mesh in with the team. I think he has a little bit of that in him. I think at this point in his career, Allen Iverson wants to win a title. I think you could convince him, if the player is a guy he respects.
Hochman: And that’s the whole thing — is Carmelo the guy to say, “This is my team now?” One of the best things for Carmelo is he’s going to be on the Olympic team this summer, he’s going to be playing with the best guys, he’s going to be a key part of that team. If they win the gold, he’s going to be a key reason why they won that championship. Hopefully for Nuggets fans, mentally Carmelo will embrace that role, and maybe that will spill into November and on.
Priorities for this season
Dempsey: They’ve taken Marcus Camby out, so they must find someone who can provide shot blocking, some presence by the basket. Or they need to find a guy on the perimeter who’s a lockdown defender, who can prevent players from going in the lane.
Paige: Sort of like James Posey (a free agent who just signed with New Orleans).
Hochman: But would you give James Posey a four-year contract (which he got)? One guy we haven’t mentioned yet is Nene. This guy is going to have a lot of pressure on him, whether they bring in another post or not. He’s got to stay healthy, he’s got to play confident, smarter offense and similarly aggressive defense.
