Carmelo Anthony has played the best basketball of his career this season and has increasingly picked up praise for his improvement. Sunday, NBA commissioner David Stern added his name to that list.
“We’ve had a number of conversations over the years, in a positive way,” Stern said. “I find him to be an engaging young man. At some point I told him he’s got to run out of cousins eventually. But I enjoy him, I enjoyed his Olympic experience, I enjoy what he’s doing for the team now and the place he’s taking.”
Anthony averaged 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists during the season. He wasn’t the only Nuggets player Stern has had his eye on.
“Chauncey Billups has always been a favorite of mine,” Stern said. “It’s fun to watch and read about him being home and maybe providing some part of an additional spark that allows this very talented roster to do what it has to do.”
As far as league matters are concerned, Stern said he expects discussions to begin after the playoffs for a new collective bargaining agreement. The current contract expires after the 2010-11 season.
“I told my owners that we would begin appointing a committee in the next two weeks,” Stern said. “(National Basketball Players Association executive director) Billy (Hunter) said he would appoint his in the next month or so.”
As far as the salary cap, Stern doesn’t expect it to go down next season, but doesn’t expect it to grow as much as originally thought. The Nuggets are one of 27 teams that didn’t increase ticket prices for next season.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
