Melo! Melo! Melo! Melo!
He’s a Denver Nugget, but this month he’s been a Colorado avalanche, inundating the NBA world. Carmelo Anthony trade talks are the talk of the town, and the league. But on Tuesday, at 10:45 a.m., George Karl hid from the insanity that is Melopalooza. The Nuggets coach found zen. This was a moment of peaceful harmony between George Karl and his first love. The guy beat cancer. His reward was being back on the court.
“Before the practice, there was an emotional moment to say (to myself), ‘Don’t take for granted what you’ve always loved to do,’ ” said the 59-year-old Karl, who coached his first Nuggets practice since his bout with throat and neck cancer. “I thought of some of the people who have helped me get back here. It’s fun to be back, it’s fun to get the butterflies, it’s fun to interact with your basketball family. It’s a privilege to do what I do.”
Karl coached blissfully but tentatively Tuesday. If he talks consistently for more than four minutes, his mouth gets sore.
Despite the Anthony trade talk swirling around camp, Karl said he was “pleasantly surprised in the intensity and attitude in almost everybody. I thought there might be a little bit of a cloud over it, and it would take some days to get away from that.”
It was Anthony’s first practice of the season, as well, one that some thought would be in a New Jersey Nets’ jersey. But the big four-team trade that revolved around the Nuggets moving Melo to New Jersey for Derrick Favors and draft picks is now dead, according to a source.
The Nuggets are talking to numerous teams and weighing offers, and it’s possible Denver could accelerate negotiations with New Jersey in a new multiple-team deal.
Karl said Monday he wanted to spend time with Anthony this week and that “my thing is to try to keep him here.”
Tuesday, Anthony said he would talk basketball with his coach, but indicated nothing else.
“He said he wanted to get together one day this week. I don’t know exactly when,” Anthony said. “Like I told him, I want to focus on basketball right now. If he wants to sit and talk to me about what to do tomorrow at practice or the next day, then we can sit down and talk about that.”
As for Anthony’s contract, it expires at the end of this season. Anthony wants the three-year, $65 million extension offered by Denver — but wants to sign it when a trade is worked out to his liking with another team in a bigger market, according to a source. Anthony will be a free agent after the season, which normally would be enticing, except that the current collective bargaining agreement expires next summer — and the new one could be more restrictive toward players.
“It’s scary,” Anthony said. “Of course, it’s scary. There’s a lot of anxiety to see what’s going to happen. Hopefully we as players and the owners can come to an agreement that suits both, players and the owners. We shall see.”
Anthony wants to win a championship, but it’s clear he also wants to maximize his marketability.
Asked Tuesday about the growth of his marketing potential, Anthony said: “Right now it’s winning basketball games and doing what I do on the court helps enhance my brand, wherever I’m at. . . . Of course, everybody wants to sell shoes who has a shoe, but that’s definitely not my main focus right now.”
Anthony has done his best to show teammates he’ll be professional during this process. On Monday night, he attended a team dinner at Elway’s in Cherry Creek, and Tuesday, his practice effort earned him an “A” grade from Karl.
As for the Nuggets, Melo or no Melo, Karl said the No. 1 offensive priority in camp is . . . shot selection.
“I’m trying to clean up our shot selection,” Karl said. “Too many individual shots.”
Al Harrington, Denver’s biggest free-agent signing this summer, enjoyed his first practice with Karl, whom he played against during his previous 12 NBA seasons. Harrington is limited in practice because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot, but looked “legit” out there according to his coach.
Harrington likes to tell the story of his first meeting with Karl this summer, when the two watched film of Harrington with the Knicks. Karl was getting mad at the forward for mistakes, even though Harrington wasn’t even playing for Karl’s team.
Harrington loved the passion. On Tuesday, he saw it again.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
Trade winds calm
The latest on the Carmelo Anthony trade front:
• The mega four-team deal involving New Jersey, Utah and Charlotte is dead, according to a source. Nets rookie Derrick Favors was the key focus for the Nuggets in that package.
• The Nuggets are still looking at a possible deal with New Jersey that could be expanded to include other teams.
