While @Arron_Afflalo tweeted: “im tired of competing by myself at fitness clubs. . . . i need a practice jersey,” the Nuggets — or what was left of the Nuggets — put on their practice jerseys for what George Karl called “a weird beginning of a weird season.”
NBA camps opened Friday — the same day free agency began — so the Nuggets were without five key players from last season — three in China, two in free-agency limbo.
The Nuggets continued to work on possibly re-signing Nene (unrestricted) and Afflalo (restricted), but numerous teams remained interested in both players. The Nuggets have the ability to sign both players to a fifth contractual year, but it’s not that easy. For instance, a source said Nene is weighing multiple offers, including a four-year, $60 million to $65 million offer from New Jersey, as first reported by Yahoo Sports.
“It’s definitely thin (here), it really is,” said Denver guard Ty Lawson, who was one of 11 Nuggets at practice, including two training camp invitees. “I’ve been texting Arron and Nene. Hopefully they sign back with us. I have confidence.
“Nene, he’s one of the best big men in the league. He does some good things for us. To lose him at this point, right before the season starts, it would be tough for us.”
For Coach Karl, all he could do was coach.
“We just have to move forward in an unorthodox crazy type of way,” Karl said. “And we’ve got to figure out how to be ready on Dec. 26 to play basketball — and let (executives) Masai (Ujiri) and Josh (Kroenke) figure out the roster and who we can get and when we can get them. The guys come in the gym, we’re going to try to make better and get ready. Ty and Andre (Miller) had good days today. I thought (Danilo) Gallinari and Timofey (Mozgov) had good days. The young kids had their moments. Jordan Hamilton shot the ball too much but he also did some things pretty well. The Cory Higgins kid actually played pretty well too.”
Higgins is actually Rod Higgins’ kid, who played for Karl at Golden State. Higgins is now the general manager of the Bobcats. Cory Higgins left Colorado as the only player to ever tally at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals. The 6-foot-5 guard is a training camp invitee, along with guard Julyan Stone of UTEP and big man Michael Ruffin, a Cherry Creek grad who didn’t practice Friday but is expected to be out there today.
Asked what he expects to bring to training camp, Higgins said: “Energy, energy and pretty much more energy. I’m a rookie and I need to do everything I can to make this roster. So I’m going to bust my butt.”
For Karl, the first practice was also a reunion with Miller, one of the favorite players he has coached. The point guard played for Denver until the 2006-07 trade with Philadelphia. He rejoined the team this summer in a trade with Portland.
“He’s a winner,” Karl said. “The guy is one of the smartest players in the NBA. He directs a team and leads a team in a very, very winning way. It’ll be anxious to see how he and Ty play together.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
