Nuggets coach George Karl on . . .
Melo signing a contract extension:
“I think the organization, Stan (Kroenke) being the leader of the organization, has done a great job of trying to make Melo happy. I think it’s a good move. We’re saying to Melo and his people, ‘We want you to be our brand, we want you to be our star.’ He’s earned that.
“But this new world of basketball business, it’s being interpreted by many people, and I don’t know what his people are thinking or what he’s thinking. I haven’t seen or talked to Melo for a long time. I’ll probably call him this week and congratulate him on his wedding. I know he loves Denver and he wants to be in Denver. My gut says he’ll be in Denver.”
Catering to stars:
“I don’t deny that the AAU basketball mentality of being catered to, having your butt kissed when you’re a seventh-grader, and if you do that from the seventh grade to the seventh year in the NBA, it must soften you somewhat.
“Accountability is the coach’s job. It’s a hard job, a harder job now than it was 10 years ago — how you hold your players accountable to specific demands and fundamentals.”
Making demands of Melo without alienating him:
“I think I can because I’m in the last year of my deal and I want to do it my way. And I think each year Melo has become more coachable, more aware that there’s a mental part to this game as much as there’s a physical part to this game.
“I’ve been in battles with players and we haven’t liked each other and we’ve still won games. I don’t think this will go that way. I think Melo and I have a solid relationship. And the same conversation I’m having about accountability with you, I’ll have with him.”
Improving the roster:
“I think we need to add something. I think we’ve tried. I don’t know if it’s been publicized but we were very close with Jermaine O’Neal. I think we were second to the Celtics. I think we were 1A. We were that close.”
Winning a championship:
“I still have the dream of that Larry O’Brien Trophy. I still have the dream of Brent Musburger giving it away when I first started watching NBA basketball.”
His reputation:
“This is the first time I’ve left the game that people probably think I’m better than I am. When you get fired, everybody thinks you’re an idiot. This situation, a lot of people have said, ‘Oh, they obviously needed you,’ and all that stuff.
“The truth about coaching is you get too much blame for losing and you get too much credit for winning.”
Miami as the NBA championship favorite with free agents LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh:
“You never know. It might be too much karma, too much selfish karma or egotistical karma. Maybe the basketball gods are saying, ‘This is not right.’ “
