Like a father handing a teenager the keys to the family car for the first time, Nuggets coach George Karl is giving the team’s future to its young stars.
A big chunk of locker room leadership and on-court experience left when Marcus Camby and Eduardo Najera moved to new teams in the offseason. It means responsibility has been ratcheted up for J.R. Smith, Linas Kleiza, Nene, and, yes, Carmelo Anthony, to take an active role in what the Nuggets will be.
“Yeah, the window and the face has changed,” Karl said. “I think all of the young players have been put in positions where this is maybe a big step for them. But they’ve been playing, they’ve been responsible guys, and now they are going to be more responsible.”
Anthony is asked to be the leader of the team in practice, in games and off the court. When the Nuggets met the media on the day before training camp, Anthony acknow-ledged some of his past shortcomings and said this season will see a “new” Anthony.
“Will he get that bounce to being a basketball leader?” Karl said. “Can we elevate him to be a consistent, solid player?”
Smith and Kleiza will still come off the bench, but Karl would like one of them to reprise a “bench leader” role filled last season by Najera, who provided energy and attitude along with scoring.
Specifically, each of their games needs to reflect growth and the potential to reach greater heights. In the cases of Kleiza and Smith, Karl wants to see more rebounding and playmaking.
“Everybody knows I can score,” said Smith, who led the Nuggets in 3-pointers last season with 157. “Everybody knows I can shoot the ball. They are going to send crowds at me, and I’ve just got to be ready to give us different options.”
But he said he doesn’t feel additional pressure to rise up to the next level.
“Not at all,” Smith said. “Nobody really expected anything out of me anyway. So, whatever I do is a surprise.”
Kleiza has a season and career to think about, this being a contract year for him. But he is downplaying the contract portion.
“I’m definitely not worried about it,” Kleiza said. “All I can do is come in, work hard, try to get better and everything will take care of itself.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys on the team. My game is getting better every year and will hopefully take another step this year. I hope my role increases and we can take this thing to the next level.”
Mays still in camp.
Forward James Mays said Sunday that despite talking to Spanish club Villa de Los Barrios, he has not signed a contract with the team.
“There were offers, but I haven’t signed anything,” Mays said. “I’m still in training camp with the Nuggets.”
Asked whether a signing could be on the horizon, Mays said no.
“Coming out of college, being in training camp with the Nuggets is something I really want to pursue,” he said.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
