Should Nuggets Fans Be Worried?
It has been almost two months since the Denver Nuggets offered Carmelo Anthony the $65 million/3-year contract and with every day the contract goes unsigned it seems more and more likely that Anthony is going to jettison Denver in route for New York. It also didn’t help that the Nuggets didn’t pick up options of general manager Mark Warkentien and vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman, which makes it even tougher to see Anthony signing the extension.
But has Anthony already made up his mind about playing for New York? No, but if he had to choose tomorrow there would be no question he’d choose the Knicks. However, the former Syracuse-star stated back in June he was going to take his time with the decision.
"“I’m not going to rush into anything. … That’s always an option. … I definitely don’t have to do it this summer.”"
And Anthony has been true to his word and don’t be surprised if the extension remains unsigned going into training camp and even the start of the season. Especially with all of the questions that remain unanswered within the Nuggets organization.
- Who is going to be in charge of the Nuggets front office?
- Is George Karl healthy enough to coach next season?
- And are the Nuggets going to add another big man before the start of the season?
None of these questions are going to be answered tomorrow, but expect them to be worked out before training camp. Rumor has it that Tommy Sheppard, the Vice President of Basketball Administrations for the Washington Wizards and former member of the Nuggets operations, and Stan Kroenke’s son Josh are going to take over the decision making for the Nuggets. And with Karl, he may experience some hiccups, but he should be back at the controls in Denver.
Now adding a big man remains to be a problem, there is a rumored Andris Biedrins trade that couldn’t be completed until Aug. 22 and Emeka Okafor is out there. But would either of them be big enough additions to keep Anthony happy?
Who knows, but expect more to come out this week after Anthony visits the White House and than returns to Denver for his camp.
(Photos by Jonathan Maness)