Photo. MannionFor the last two weeks, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson had more or less been openly begging for the Nuggets to pull the trigger on a deal for Ron Artest. Yesterday’s deadline came and went though, with no Ron-Ron in sight. The inactivity apparently didn’t sit well with ‘Melo. From today’s Denver Post:
If Denver had acquired Artest, it would have received one of the league’s most voracious defenders, but it also would have received one of the league’s most volatile players, infamous for run-ins with fans and the law. Karl said he is pleased with the way his team is meshing for the stretch run.
“You have to remember, all these trades that were made don’t make those teams better,” Karl said. “Sometimes making a trade makes a team shakier.”
The Nuggets rejected getting Artest though their two all-stars, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, had campaigned for him. Artest, though, would likely have opted out of his contract at season’s end, meaning the Nuggets would be making the trade for 29 games and would head into the offseason without Artest, and Kleiza, a dynamic reserve who has improved his all-around game and will cost only $1.8 million next season.After the trade deadline, some players were relieved, others were peeved. Anthony had said the past two weeks he wanted Artest because other Western Conference powers had added star players.
Leaving the building, he whisked past reporters and huffed: “I have nothing to say right now.”
We have a tough time believing that they didn’t pull the trigger on an Artest deal just because they couldn’t bear the thought of losing Linas Kleiza, especially when Artest’s contract would have come off the books this summer if things didn’t work out. If Ron chose to walk in the offseason, it would have been because George Karl couldn’t figure out a way to effectively work him into the mix. That’s on him. So Nuggets management must have sincerely believed that Ron would not have meshed well, or would not have been enough to make them real contenders, or they simply decided they didn’t want to manage his personality.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Prof. TX says:
Admittedly, I’m not a Denver fan. I don’t have anything against them, I just don’t follow them as much as some other teams. But what I can’t figure out is why this team has so much talent but doesn’t win more games. Is it an ego thing? Are they just better on paper than in practice? They seem like they should be capable of alot more.
Can anyone who watches them closer offer a good explanation of what’s wrong with the Nuggets? They have good starters, a decent bench, and while I personally don’t like Karl alot of people will tell you he’s a good coach. What’s missing?
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Jah says:
Artest only wanted to leave Sacramento (in my opinion) because he was beefing with Mike Bibby. Now with Bibby gone, Artest can do his thing (along with Kevin Martin & their supporting cast). I read many reports that Artest was backing off of his trade requests after Bibby was shipped out.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:46 pm
GEE... you should be happy your trailer park has wi-fi says:
“You have to remember, all these trades that were made don’t make those teams better,” Karl said. “Sometimes making a trade makes a team shakier.”
MAN PLEASE! See it’s that type of thinking that hinders G.K. from ever putting his paws on that trophy. Of course most of those trades are going to make the teams better that is why they made them. Apparently he is getting high on his own supply cause I am thinking he is the only one who has convinced himself the other teams are not better.
If it makes them shakier in regards to attitude that is usually on a player who doesn’t want to go to a team, or the team is not winning or the coach is not using him effectively as he feels he should be used.
Denver is already a beast no doubt, but they could have been a plain monster with the addition of Artest.
Melo and A.I. should be mad.
This has to make Kleiza feel weird. Still, he should prove his worth, and come with some more big games or just consistent games period.
I have said it all year. No good thing will come with G.K. as coach. So far it’s proving correct. The only way the seeing the finals is if A.I. carries them.
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
marcus says:
Im kinda clueless as to why the Nuggets.. who have as much talent as any team in the NBA doesnt get it done either. My best guess would be they have 1 player who really makes an effert on defense. Camby is a damn good defender..but he cant do it all alone. Maybe AI and Melo should put their money where their mouths are and pick up their game. Play well the whole season instead of just the 1st half of it.
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
dagwaller says:
Sorry for the repost…
Dime: trading for Artest would have been a BAD move for the Nuggets, and not just because Kleiza is a decent player.
First of all, I’m continually hearing (especially on this site) about how talented the Nuggets are. I always wonder why they don’t have a better record if they’re so talented, but if you already have 3 stars, I don’t see how you can get much better, talent wise. Point being, I think that the issue might be with the players that are already there, not which players they might be able to bring in.
Speaking of which, the other problem bring Ron Ron in is with Ron Ron himself. I’ve always liked him as a player, and in fact, I kind of like him being crazy. But it’s not the kind of trait I’d want in a player that I’m counting on to win a championship. Furthermore, what position would he play? Would he play at the same time as Carmelo? If so, offensively, he doesn’t fit into any system, really, especially one as fast paced as the Nuggets. For all the reasons people can come up with as to why Shaq won’t fit in with the Suns, the same ones apply to Artest in Denver.
This would’ve been a bad move.
I don’t think that Artest would’ve put them over the top in this year’s West. A classic case of the parts being greater than the sum. Artest NEEDS the ball to be effective on offense, just like Melo and AI. If they played with three balls, this would have been a great trade.
And there’s no way, even with Artest’s salary coming off the books, that they’d find another player of Kleiza’s caliber for 1.8 mil per year. They’d end up overpaying for some free agent that would upset chemistry the same way Ron Ron would…and be short one very good role player.
Think about it - there’re going to be 7 teams in the West that come away from this season thinking, “Damn! We mortgaged our future for this season, and now we’re screwed!” The Nugs have a good team, secure for the next couple years, all while the Suns, Spurs, and Mavs just got a bunch older.
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:25 pm
f6 says:
wasnt ron ron, making noise b/c he was not the main option on the team with kmart II and bibby…i wonder how he would like to be at best 3rd option on a team were AI and carmelo (punchrun) anothy take alot of shots….and be the 2nd defence player on the team behind marcus (shouldbeenaallstart) camby…i think it would be a trade that only last the rest of the year or so…
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Steve M says:
I’m with you Prof. The Nugg’s should have a better record. My guess is that their main options (AI, Melo)are more 1 on 1 type players. They stop the ball from moving and getting higher percentage shots. Plus Melo and AI aren’t great defenders. Don’t let AI’s steals numbers fool you. He gets those more from playing passing lanes then picking his man Like Gary Payton in his day. I’ve also always felt like Kenyon (THE REAL K-MART II. Kevin Martin is the better player right now) Martin was too undersized to hang with the 4’s in the west.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Austin Burton says:
Denver has two 25-ppg scorers and the Defensive Player of the Year. If they can’t get past the first round with that, ‘Melo needs to start looking at himself rather than the front office not getting Artest.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
GEE... you should be happy your trailer park has wi-fi says:
George Karl. That messes up everything right there. Nuff said.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Utes Fan says:
The Nuggets are a band of individual talents. The egos on that team are nearly as large as the Rocky Mountains. I’ve watched them plenty. Adding Ron Artest would have been insane. On paper a lineup of A.I., Carmelo, K-Mart, and Artest looks great but try having those four personalities on the court together at the same time. It is easy to see why Karl didn’t make this trade. That doesn’t even mention the drama surrounding J.R. Smith. The only levelheaded Nugget on the squad is Camby.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:57 pm
yoda says:
melo is a bitch. he showed that with that sucker punch and then running to teammates to save him, and hes showing it now again. hes bitching and denver is really good team. you can badmouth karl but he played in finals with forward/guard combo. and those sonics, talent wise, are no way better then these days nuggets. ( id take those days kemp over bitch melo anyway). so, its not all on coach. so melo needs to shut up, stop playing tough guy, couse he aint, and start playing basketball.
does anyone of older readers remebers any of old franchise players bitching so much for help like these days players? if i remeber correctly, players used to work extra hard to get theirs teams to next level.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 pm
What is this!? says:
Melo makes me laugh. Maybe if he would play some DEFENSE himself, he wouldn’t have to worry about trying to get a player like Ron Artest (who plays the same position as he does by the way) to do the work for him. And he really shouldn’t be complaining considering that he is hiding behind Iversons leadership of that team. Iverson leads the league in minutes played, leads that team in PPG, assists and steals (I do agree he could pick up on the defense)…hell AI is putting in the most work, and Melo has the nerve to be complaining about something? Give me a break. I’m starting to give up on Melo as a leader.
Even when AI has a bad game, I feel good about his effort…Melo coasts entirely too much throughout games to be talking about anyone. If he wants a change…try playing the game like its your last night in and night out and quit showing up when you feel like it. If they don’t make any noise in the playoffs this year, Iverson needs to opt out and weigh his options, because at this point him being in Denver is helping the Nuggets out more then it is him. Dude is doing the same things he was in philly only surrounded by more talent. Still busting his @ss. If it wasn’t for that guy thatteam would be struggling to be a .500 team. Real talk. I read that the Nuggets are one of the biggest box office draws on the road. Why? Because they have one of the leagues box office stars there in Iverson. The Nuggets never recieved this much attention before that guy got there. Denver has certainly benefited off of Iversons presence…both on and off the court.
With that said, people act like the 1-8 seeds in the West are not seperated by only like 4 1/2 games. If anybody in that conference slips and loses a few games they are out the playoff race are dropping down a few slots. I think Denver is like 13 games above .500 and given the injuries to key players, line up changes and atress this team has been through this year, they are doing better at maintaining then most teams would under those circumstances. I think that team has only played like 5 games total where everyone was healthy. They have the pieces to compete, its just about them putting everything together.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Dennis Castro says:
Austin, couldn’t have said it better myself. Melo whines way too much, seemingly placing the blame on everyone but himself when things go wrong. Man the F up.
Maybe he’s just in a bad mood because AI came in and completely brodied the identity of that team and became the alpha dog.
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 am
todd says:
this nuggets team just isn’t going anywhere. they just don’t put enough effort on D. iverson as an undersized 2 guard who has slowed down and melo coasting on D doesn’t help. everybody’s high on melo esp when he’s on team USA, but he doesn’t really do much besides score. with his combination of strength and good-enough quickness, that’s unacceptable.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
doc says:
Barkley used to bitch like that for the Sixers and he never got a ring for what its worth. Im with Austin though if Melo so mad why dont he man up and play some fuckin D.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Austin Burton says:
When A.I. came to Denver everyone made them an instant title contender — including A.I. and ‘Melo. Given all the talent on that team and the fact that they do have a good coach (Karl might get on guys’ nerves, but he knows how to coach), you can’t really complain about the lineup. The fact that they don’t play defense is a heart issue; Camby and A.I. and Najera don’t lack in that department, but for whatever reason this team can’t stop anyone. ‘Melo should look at other superstars like Michael Redd, Chris Bosh, even LeBron, who don’t have as many resources around them as he has and be thankful.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:58 pm
word says:
well their point guard is shaky and so is kenyon, the only solid players right now are a.i., melo and camby. and camby can’t run the d all on his own, kenyon isn’t solid to count on game in and game out. their offense is covered by the 2 stars but nene is out with cancer so thats a big blow to the d, and kenyon just needs to be more consistent, carter’s inconsistency is bad too, it is sometimes made up by j.r. or kleiza but najera isn’t much help either. artest would of helped a lot but i bet they thought him + melo and a.i.= bad idea. which is stupid cuz he would’ve helped tremendously and definitely made them bonafied title contenders.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:11 am
What is this!? says:
todd, where do you see that Iverson has slowed down at? Please tell me this. The dude has some of the best STATS in the league. Some of you people just be on here talking just to hear yourself talk. Some of you just want that dude to slow down so you’ll just say it even though its more then evident it isn’t true. If he has supposidly “slowed down” then everyone in the league has considering that noone can seem to keep up with him and always seem two steps behind. Give me break.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:36 am
todd says:
by slowing down, i’m pertaining literally to his quickness and speed. he’s still putting up the same numbers, but watch him on O. he’s pounding the rock even more trying to get by guys coz he’s lost a bit of step. everybody slows down with age. it’s a fact. he’s still quick, but not like he was back then. and every bit of quickness and speed counts, especially on D.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
What is this!? says:
^^We are going to have to agree to disagree, i’m sorry. I used to be an Iverson hater myself, but I have so much respect for that guy now and admit that guy is a FREAK of nature. I understand that everybody slows down with age, but to say he’s lost “a bit of a step” as if its that noticable is ridiculous. I’ll go with the majority of the media on this issue and say that he hasn’t.
Iverson is only 32 yrs old…not 42 yrs old (like some try to act like he is). He’ll be fine. Like I said before, considering that can’t no one seem to keep up with him still (and he remains to be one of the quickest gaurds in the league)is a great sign for him. Just because those players aren’t 25 yrs old anymore doesn’t mean they need to automatically slow down once they reach the age of 30. You can’t compare Iverson to the average NBA cat…it’s more then apperent he’s cut from a different cord. I think some people just want him to slow down. If he’s supposidly “lost a step” its certainly not that significant. Also, Iverson played D like that in Philly (hardly none), so that hasn’t changed. LOL!!