The Nuggets will never hire a strong general manager so long as Bret Bearup, friend and adviser to owner E. Stanley Kroenke, has a power base within the organization.
Conversely, no strong general manager would take the job knowing he would need approval from Bearup before making a move.
That’s the consensus around the NBA, and it’s why the list of candidates to replace vice presidents Mark Warkentien and Rex Chapman, blown out earlier this summer, includes no one with experience as an NBA general manager. If you were hoping the Nuggets would pursue well-regarded former Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard, for example, you would be well advised not to hold your breath.
This perception — that the GM of the Nuggets, whatever his title, will not actually be in charge — also contributes to uncertainty about whether the club can retain Carmelo Anthony, its biggest star.
Around the NBA, the impression of dysfunction within the Nuggets’ front office was reinforced by the fractious relationships among Bearup, Warkentien and Chapman that made the latest shakeup inevitable.
It is further reinforced by the list of candidates to replace them:
• David Griffin, former Phoenix Suns No. 2 man under Steve Kerr, currently unemployed.
• Jason Levien, former agent and Sacramento Kings assistant general manager, currently unemployed.
• David Pendergraft, Atlanta Hawks assistant general manager.
• Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors assistant general manager.
No knock on any of the four, who are regarded as bright up-and-comers, but it is generally assumed that the new hire will be no better than No. 4 in the executive hierarchy, beneath Kroenke, Bearup and Josh Kroenke, the owner’s son and soon to be “owner” to satisfy the NFL’s cross-ownership rules.
Worse, as the departures of Warkentien and Chapman indicate, the position seems to carry all the executive responsibility but not much of the authority.
Bearup is the shadow GM, but he’s never had a front-office title and did not appear in last season’s media guide. The playoff media guide gave him one line in a staff directory as “adviser to the Nuggets,” but no biographical sketch. On his Twitter account, Bearup identifies himself as “NBA Exec, Idiot Savant.”
The NBA has more than a passing interest in his role because he used to steer young prospects to financial advisers. Officials of NBA teams are prohibited from contact with players not yet eligible for the draft. The league lists Bearup as a Nuggets consultant.
Most observers expected either Warkentien or Chapman to be let go, at least in part because an ambiguous organizational chart had them competing for authority and Kroenke’s ear. But when both were sent packing, it reinforced the perception that Kroenke’s “adviser” holds most of the cards. Bearup did not respond to a request for an interview.
The latest front office shake-up comes at a crucial point for the franchise, which is trying to sign Anthony to a contract extension before he becomes a free agent next summer.
The Nuggets have payroll commitments of more than $80 million for this season, but possibly as little as $16 million for the season after that, assuming Anthony and Nene opt out of the final years of their deals and the team doesn’t pick up its option on Chauncey Billups’ contract.
In short, all the important players, as well as head coach George Karl and his staff, are essentially on one-year contracts.
Is that the plan, to strip the roster down a year from now and start over? If not, what is? Does anybody know?
If Anthony doesn’t sign the extension, will the Nuggets’ next front-office hire be responsible for trading him?
What if Karl’s health takes him away from the team again? Who takes his place? That was an issue last year, yet the organization has done nothing to address it. Is there a plan for that?
All of this reflects on the man at the top. Kroenke’s aversion to publicity in a very public business has created an odd disconnect in the organization: Everyone is publicly accountable except for the owner, his adviser and his son.
So the elder Kroenke hires people to provide the public accountability required of a pro sports team’s front office — Kiki Vandeweghe, Warkentien, Chapman — and then tires of them and the publicity they receive. More than one Nuggets official over the years has asked me to keep his name out of the paper so as not to antagonize the owner.
If you were Melo, would you recommit now to an organization facing so many questions and offering so few answers?
Me neither.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or
