The Nuggets Offseason: J.R. Smith...

Throughout the offseason, DenverStiffs.com will focus on a player on the current Nuggets roster and propose what should be done (if anything) with him. With the NBA Playoffs still in progress, the draft lottery order yet to be determined and the free agency market still unclear (i.e. who will be opting out of their deals around the league), we will begin by focusing on players that are unlikely to be traded. Our first subject is J.R. Smith, the exceptionally talented if often troubled shooting guard who has spent much of his time in Denver in head coach George Karl's doghouse - including Karl's unacceptable and unprofessional announcement of "he's done" when referring to Smith's play after a 2007 playoff loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Way to encourage a 21-year-old kid, George.

Objectively the Nuggets third most talented player, Smith saw only 30 minutes of playing time twice all season in 2007-08. Once when he erupted for 43 points in a loss at Chicago, and again when he led the Nuggets in scoring when they lost to the Lakers in Game 4 and were bounced from the playoffs. In fact, Smith was one of the few Nuggets to bring his "A Game" into the playoff series with the Lakers, and his effort never waned regardless of each game's outcome. That playoff series, combined with Smith putting up double figures in scoring in each of his last 14 regular season games, has the Nuggets' brass and Nuggets fans everywhere thinking big things for Smith in 2008-09.

The Situation: Smith is a restricted free agent this summer. Meaning, the Nuggets can match any offer Smith receives from an opposing team. However, every dollar the Nuggets commit to Smith that goes over the NBA's luxury tax threshold will have to be matched - dollar for dollar - and paid to the league. With the Nuggets already clocking in with the NBA's third highest payroll, they're praying that no opposing team throws the bank at Smith. Of course, a rival Western Conference team might offer Smith a ton of money just to force the Nuggets to overpay for him (a la the Detroit Pistons offering Atlanta center Jon Koncak a ridiculous contract in 1989 knowing the Hawks would match it).

The Good: You hear this phrase thrown around a lot, but Smith has legitimate All-Star potential. Not only can he effectively shoot the three (he's a 40% shooter from behind the arc), but he might be the most purely athletic two-guard in the NBA, making him virtually unstoppable when driving to the hole. Just ask the Lakers' interior defense. Moreover, Smith is an efficient scorer. If he played 36 minutes a game, he'd be a 23 points per game scorer. On the intangibles side, he has infectious enthusiasm - evident by being the lead cheerleader on the Nuggets bench every night - and an obvious desire to be in the game at all times. As one NBA assistant coach once told me: "you always want a guy you have to dial down, not dial up." And Smith certainly fits that description. If you get a chance, I recommend reading Chris Dempsey's Denver Post piece on Smith's improvement and maturity this season.

The Bad: Typical of a teenage phenom who never played college basketball, Smith's shot selection and commitment to defense leaves much to be desired (understatement). Even though his enthusiasm is a plus, Smith can be overanxious in games resulting in unnecessary trash talking (as seen in this year's playoffs with Lakers star Kobe Bryant) or worse, altercations with opponents (as seen in last season's Madison Square Garden Melee, even though Smith didn't start the brawl). He's also a perpetual whiner with the refs, a nasty habit he's picked up from Nuggets superstar guard Allen Iverson. And finally, Smith has clashed with both coaches he's played for - Byron Scott and George Karl - each of whom has accused Smith of having a bad attitude. Smith's reputation among coaches was so bad, in fact, that when New Orleans traded him to Chicago (apparently at Scott's insistence), Bulls' head coach Scott Skiles didn't want him either. Thus, Smith ended up in Denver for two second round draft picks and Howard Eisley. At least we got him cheap!

The Ugly: Smith has been involved in an assortment of bizarre off-the-court incidents since coming to Denver. Within a five-month span last year, his best friend was killed in a car accident resulting from Smith's alleged reckless driving, and Smith allegedly assaulted a 22 year old woman at a Denver nightclub (the woman accused Smith of spitting on her twice and tearing her dress), resulting in a three-game suspension by the team. And according to Smith's Wikipedia page, his driver's license was once suspended five times in eight months.

The Verdict: Anyone looking to sign (or in the Nuggets' case, re-sign) Smith must take into account his off-the-court problems and penchant for clashing with coaches, while keeping in mind that he's not even 23 years old yet. It got little coverage in the press, but Allen Iverson said some remarkably revealing things about Smith in the Game 4 postgame press conference. I don't have the exact quote handy, but I distinctly remember Iverson saying something along the lines of: "J.R. has all the talent in the world. He just needs to realize that by making better choices in his non-basketball life will greatly improve his basketball life. And if there's anything I can do to mentor him, I will."

If given the right combination of stern discipline off-the-court (ahem, Mark Warkentien) and the freedom to expand his evolving game on it (ahem, Coach Karl), J.R. Smith could be the Nuggets starting shooting guard for years to come. But most importantly, Smith needs to heed Iverson's advice, start accepting responsibility for all his actions and get his personal life in order.

Assuming some of those things happen and the Nuggets can re-sign Smith for - say - $6 million a year or less, I say do it. As painful as this season was in the end, it'd be more painful to watch Smith torch the Nuggets wearing another team's uniform.

Dan Patrick grills George Karl...

George Karl's Jedi-mind-trick charm with members of the media didn't seem to work on Dan Patrick yesterday. Just when you think this is another friendly chat about the NBA Playoffs with the Nuggets head coach, be sure to listen closely to the last 30 seconds. Patrick wouldn't let Karl get away with his usual "they were the better team, I'm picking the Lakers" nonsense, and you can tell that Karl was not happy with Patrick's questions.

***Thanks to DenverStiffs.com reader "Snake" for submitting this link!***

Carmelo Anthony. Speed Racer...

I get caught speeding at least once every two years. It sucks. And every time I get caught, I make sure I drive within five miles of the speed limit for the next six months to ensure I don't get caught again and thus risk having my insurance go up dramatically, have extra points taken off my license, be forced into attending traffic school (again) and so on. Therefore, I assume that if I ever got caught on suspicion of driving under the influence, I'd be even more cautious about my driving habits for the next few months. If not for the next few years altogether.

Well, if you're Carmelo Anthony, apparently this isn't the case. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Melo got caught speeding at 4:45 pm on Saturday afternoon (at least it wasn't 4:45 AM).

Why is it that Melo drives aggressively anywhere but on an NBA Playoff basketball court?

Do you know who's running your Nuggets? (Part 5 in a 5-Part Series)...

This is the fifth and final in a denverstiffs.com exclusive series reviewing past and current Nuggets front office management. Please note that all the information laid out here is available online and is therefore public knowledge. I’m just connecting the dots.

THE WARKENTIEN / BEARUP / CHAPMAN ADMINISTRATION
(September 2005 – Present)

Background: As detailed in Part 4 in our series focusing on the Kiki Vandeweghe Administration, Vandeweghe did an admirable job as the Nuggets General Manager picking up the pieces of a tattered organization thanks to the ineptitude of Vandeweghe’s predecessors Dan Issel, Allan Bristow and Bernie Bickerstaff. Within three years of joining the organization as GM, Vandeweghe had the Nuggets on the map again and back in the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons.

But somewhere along the way, Vandeweghe lost the confidence of Nuggets owner Stanley Kroenke. In late January of 2005, Kroenke essentially forced Vandeweghe to hire George Karl as head coach. And that September, Kroenke brought in Mark Warkentien as Director of Player Personnel. In addition to Karl and Warkentien’s presence immediately undermining Vandeweghe’s authority, Kroenke wouldn’t renegotiate Vandeweghe’s contract. Two years removed from assembling the most talented Nuggets team in almost 20 years, Vandeweghe was a lame-duck GM and was officially out in May 2006. With Vandeweghe out of the picture, Kroenke promoted Warkentien to Vice President of Basketball Operations and also brought in Bret Bearup as an “adviser” to the organization and Rex Chapman as Vice President of Player Personnel.

So who are these guys and where did they come from?

Mark Warkentien: Prior to joining the Nuggets, Warkentien spent 10 years (1994-2004) with the Portland Trailblazers, first as a scout, then Director of Scouting, then Assistant General Manager and, finally, Director of Player Personnel. Working with "Trader Bob" Whitsitt, here’s a sampling of the players Warkentien was involved with in bringing to Portland during his tenure (if you have spare time after reading this article, I strongly recommend clicking on each of the links): Dontonio Wingfield, Rasheed Wallace, Isaiah Rider, Kenny Anderson, Damon Stoudamire, Bonzi Wells, Jim Jackson, Shawn Kemp, Rod Strickland, Zach Randolph, Ruben Patterson, Qyntel Woods, Jeff McInnis, Darius Miles and Sebastian Telfair. All of these players had a few things in common: bad character, disturbing personal issues, problems with coaches and teammates, ran afoul of the law, or, in most cases, all of the above. Your Portland Jailblazers, ladies and gentlemen! I'm still in shock that Warkentien didn't recommend acquiring Roy Tarpley, Stephen Jackson and Latrell Sprewell while he was in the City of Roses.

And before co-architecting that mess, Warkentien worked for 11 years in basketball operations at UNLV. That’s right, the players-in-the-hot-tub-with-a-notorious-gambler era at UNLV. While there, Warkentien was cited – along with head coach Jerry Tarkanian and current Nuggets assistant coach Tim Grgurich – for allegedly committing 29 NCAA rules violations, including the recruitment of New York playground legend Lloyd Daniels, whom Warkentien conveniently served as his “legal guardian”. Daniels never actually played at UNLV because of a 1988 televised drug raid in Las Vegas. And here I thought drugs were legal in Vegas.

Bret Bearup: A former University of Kentucky basketball player, Bearup spent his post-playing, pre-Nuggets years operating as a “financial adviser” for athletes through his company, ProTrust Capital. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but by using the “adviser” designation, Bearup was able to - according to the articles I dug up online - operate outside the purview of the NCAA and act as a conduit between agents and players…allegedly while some were still in high school. But don’t take it from me, just ask former Kentucky and current Louisville head coach Rick Pitino about Bearup: “I don’t care for Bearup at all. Bearup and I are mortal enemies and will stay that way until the day I die. I don’t think he’s good for the game. Here’s a guy, reputation-wise, who doesn’t do it by the book. He’s one of the biggest hypocrites of all time.” And yet, Bearup’s clients have included Elton Brand, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Sebastian Telfair, Amare Stoudamire, Mike Miller, Jonathan Bender, Nick Van Exel and many more. I couldn’t find anything online detailing how and when Bearup met Kroenke, other than Kroenke regards him as “a close friend of mine for many years.” Nor could I find anything that explains whether or not Bearup still maintains his clientele now a Nuggets employee. I’m no lawyer, but assuming he still maintains his financial advisory business with non-Nuggets players as clients, wouldn’t that be a – ummm – conflict of interest?

Rex Chapman: I must confess that I have a soft spot for Chapman, one of my all-time favorite non-Nuggets as a player. We were born on the same day and when I attended the 1991 NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte (Chapman’s hometown at the time), I saw Chapman do what I still believe was the most underrated dunk ever seen in the dunk contest. Mind you, this was 1991, and maybe one or two white guys had ever participated in the dunk contest at that point. Anyway, coming from the right side of the rim, Chapman flipped the ball behind his back, it hit the glass well above the rim on the left side, he caught it backward, did a 180-degree turn and dunked it. Amazing. And of course we all remember his incredibly clutch game-tying shot when the Suns played George Karl’s Sonics in the 1997 playoffs. Obviously this says nothing about his skills as VP of Player Personnel, and I assume he was brought to the Nuggets by Bearup given their Kentucky ties.

And there you have it, the Nuggets’ troika of player personnel. So how has this threesome done?

Warkentien, Bearup and Chapman’s Record:

Best Draft Pick: n/a. Thanks to Kiki Vandeweghe’s parting with three first round picks for Kenyon Martin and the Allen Iverson trade which cost us two such picks, the current administration has had nothing to work with in the draft. I wish I could count Leon Powe (2006, 2nd Round 49th Pick), but he was drafted for Boston in a pre-draft trade.

Worst Draft Pick (and players passed on within a few picks): n/a.

Best Move: Trading Howard Eisley and two second round picks to the Bulls for J.R. Smith. Granted, Smith has had some problems during his stay in Denver, but we couldn’t have gotten such a talent any cheaper.

Second Best Move: Trading Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks to the 76ers for Allen Iverson. Even though the Nuggets haven’t found playoff success with Iverson, anytime you have an opportunity to acquire one of the greatest players of all time at the peak of his career, you do it.

Worst Move: Re-signing Nene to a six-year, $60 million contract. Re-signing Nene was the right thing to do, but taking a page from Vandeweghe’s playbook, Warkentien overpaid for a power forward even though no one else was bidding for the player’s services.

Best Season: 2007-08 (50-32) – For only the fourth time in franchise history, the Nuggets won 50 games. Unfortunately, they did it in a season in which all eight Western Conference Playoff teams won at least 50 games, so the Nuggets ended up with the 8th seed only to get swept by the Los Angeles Lakers – the Nuggets fifth straight first round exit in as many years. As perhaps a microcosm of the disarray that the 2007-08 season was, during the Game 3 home blowout against the Lakers, All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony was caught yelling “just don’t sit there!!” at Nuggets head coach George Karl and then called out himself and his team as “quitters” in the postgame press conference. Good times. Frankly, with the talent assembled on the roster by Vandeweghe and then Warkentien, Bearup and Chapman, the team should have won more than 50 games to avoid that 8th seed and eventual sweep (ahem, Coach Karl).

Worst Season: 2006-07 (45-37) – The Nuggets got off to a good start in 2006, but all good things came to end abruptly on December 16, 2006 at Madison Square Garden. Coach Karl left his starters on the floor late in a blowout win over the Knicks, inciting Knicks head coach (and all-time worst person) Isiah Thomas to send Mardy Collins head hunting for Nuggets’ J.R. Smith. A massive brawl ensued, and Anthony sucker-punched Collins. With stiff suspensions handed down to Anthony (15 games) and Smith (10 games), Warkentien, Bearup and Chapman acted fast to salvage the season and keep asses in the Pepsi Center seats when they traded for Iverson. Thanks to the Iverson acquisition, the Nuggets stayed afloat during the suspensions, but ended up with only a 6th-seed and a first round 4-1 drubbing at the hands of the eventual champion Spurs.

Accumulative W-L Record: 95-69 (.579)

Summary: It’s probably not fair to grade Warkentien, Bearup and Chapman’s performance after only two seasons of being in charge. In addition, the mainstays on the current Nuggets roster – Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin, Nene, Eduardo Najera and Linas Kleiza – were all brought in by Vandeweghe (and it was Vandeweghe who ridiculously traded three first round picks for Martin and then gave the cantankerous power forward with no mid-range game a maximum contract). But if the past can give us insight into the future, the Nuggets should have never brought in Warkentien or Bearup in the first place. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Warkentien in particular puts a premium on talent over character. As if you needed further proof of this, there was the infamous Ron Artest trade that never happened because head coach George Karl shot it down. I guess Karl figured five knuckleheads on one roster was enough.

Making matters worse, rumors have swirled that whenever Karl attempts to discipline the players, the players run to Warkentien or Bearup and get a free pass. Former Denver Post journalist Thomas George’s 2006 three-part article about the Nuggets playoff implosion and Vandeweghe’s eventual ouster details a lot of this dysfunction and the power struggle between Karl, the players, Bearup and others in the front office. One recent story – referred to often on Denver sports radio – was that Karl insisted on a “no alcohol” policy on the team’s charter flights this season, but when the players protested to management, alcohol was permitted. (I hope for Carmelo’s sake it didn’t include wine, because he’d have been blitzed…hey-ohhh!).

In terms of pure basketball deals, Warkentien should be commended for bringing in J.R. Smith for Howard Eisley and two second round picks, trading away Ruben “the nanny raper” Patterson for Joe Smith, parting with Earl Boykins (and his bloated salary) and draft bust Julius Hodge for Steve Blake, and of course for acquiring Allen Iverson for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks. I don’t care what anyone says about how well Miller has played in Philadelphia since being traded, because in Denver he was a serial over-dribbler (gee…maybe it’s the coaching?).

But if it’s true that leadership starts at the top, then Warkentien, Bearup and Chapman bear a lot of the blame for the Nuggets players’ lack of composure, off-the-court antics and the alleged circus atmosphere surrounding the team this past season. On Warkentien, Bearup and Chapman’s “watch” we’ve seen Kenyon Martin allegedly send a friend into the Pepsi Center stands to confront two fans, the Madison Square Garden Melee, J.R. Smith’s alleged assault on a girl at a Denver nightclub and his New Jersey car accident that killed his best friend, and Carmelo’s alleged DUI and his open act of insubordination against his coach during Game 3 of this year's playoffs (a la Stanley on last week's episode of "The Office").

Furthermore, in 2007-08 the Nuggets players led the NBA in technical fouls and ejections and were second in flagrant fouls (meanwhile, Coach Karl finished second-to-last among all head coaches with one technical foul…and some of you thought I was crazy for calling him out for NEVER working the refs and defending his players!).

So while other NBA teams are letting young, innovative, “Moneyball”-type GMs manage their player personnel – like Sam Presti in Seattle, Kevin Pritchard in Portland and Daryl Morey in Houston – the Nuggets essentially have a recycled general manager in Warkentien who’s never put a quality product on the floor, working with a Kroenke crony in Bearup and his sidekick, Chapman.

I hope Warkentien, Bearup and Chapman prove me wrong and swing an impressive move or two this summer to improve the character, defensive intensity and outside shooting on the team. But after reviewing Warkentien and Bearup’s resumes and seeing what’s happened with the players during their tenure thus far, I think it’s safe to say that we don’t want these guys running our Nuggets anymore than we want Karl coaching them.

Grade: Incomplete

Part IV - Breaking down the Kiki Vandeweghe Administration
Part III - Breaking down the Dan Issel Administration
Part II - Breaking down the Allan Bristow Administration
Part I - Breaking down the Bernie Bickerstaff Administration

Why DenverStiffs.com? An open letter to my readers...

My family and I have purchased season tickets and attended Nuggets games since the team was in the ABA. A season ticket holder is essentially a taxpayer – you contribute to the million dollar salaries of your team’s managers, coaches and players. And as a taxpayer, you have every right to demand an earnest effort both on the basketball floor, inside the locker room and within the front office. Moreover, we should never forget the credo that all fans must abide by: if we care more about the outcome of the game than the coach or the players, they no longer deserve our support and instead, deserve our harshest criticism.

I launched FireGeorgeKarl.com back in February because I feared that the coach (and by proxy, the players) of the team I love didn’t care as much about the regular season as we, the fans, did. And worse – with a few exceptions – not only was no one in the Denver media calling head coach George Karl out for the team’s underachieving performance, but they were routinely taking up for him. Meanwhile, every Nuggets fan I spoke to was furious with Karl, and who was speaking up for them?

So something had to be done.

By starting this blog, my hope was that by putting some much needed, and frankly overdue, public heat on Karl that he would guide the Nuggets out of the cellar of the Western Conference Playoffs for once and deliver one measly first-round series victory. And that if he didn’t, I hoped the Nuggets would make a change at head coach. Much to my disappointment, neither of these wishes came to fruition and Karl will be back on the bench next season.

But since starting this blog, I quickly learned that the Nuggets organization has a myriad of problems that go well beyond George Karl. And for me – or anyone – to make one guy the scapegoat for five straight years of playoff futility, not only does a disservice to him but lets others responsible for this ineptitude off the hook.

For example, General Manager Mark Warkentien was the co-architect of the Portland Jailblazers team that almost ruined basketball as we know in the city of Portland. And Bret Bearup, owner Stanley Kroenke’s confidant and team adviser, previously operated in the shadows of the NCAA recruitment process as a “financial adviser” to athletes at the college and high school level. Are these really the guys we want running our Nuggets? While I appreciate Mr. Kroenke's willingness to open his wallet to put a winning team on the floor, I don’t want us turning into Warkentien’s Jailblazers or worse, the New York Knicks.

And, of course, there are the players. In spite of the assortment of (very) public incidents – criminal or otherwise – that these current Nuggets have been a part of, I can’t help but root for them. But the reality is that in addition to not being coached properly, these players don’t fit well together and, in some cases, have worn out their welcome in Denver.

I always intended this website to be much more than a “fire the coach” blog and grow into a general Nuggets forum that speaks the brutally honest truth on behalf of Nuggets fans everywhere. Therefore, while continuing to advocate for a coaching change, I will be advocating for other changes within the organization and to the roster, as well – and that’s why this blog will now be known as DenverStiffs.com (for the uninitiated, that’s an homage to former head coach Doug Moe who called all his players “stiffs” – that means you, Blair Rasmussen!). To keep tabs on those who disappoint us in Nuggets Nation, I have produced a "STIFF LIST" to be a regular feature at the top right corner of the homepage.

I hope that all of you will continue to follow this blog regularly, especially given that many of you have been asking me to turn this into a general Nuggets blog from Day One. And in case you’re curious, FireGeorgeKarl.com will remain live and point here.

Before I sign off tonight, I want to thank a few people for making this blog an amazing experience thus far. First off – I want to thank my most active readers: chillz, markp, danjustin, joanna (all the way from China!), Kieran, Nataly, geerten (from Holland!), blue, Petey, Lucas, Andrew (from Australia!), j2y2k3, Iverson Warrior, Lord Sam, Murl, kenoshakid, Nadum, ohxten, DeAngelo Starnes, shonuff101 and even my nemesis, Shaun. You guys have been amazing not just with your loyalty to the blog, but with your thoughtful, detailed comments and analysis. Keep it up!

Secondly, I want to thank Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News, who has treated me as a colleague (and not some internet hack) from our first conversation onward, and had the guts to bring up this site to George Karl in person. I also want to thank the Denver Post’s Mark Kiszla and Woody Paige for being responsive and supportive, and Benjamin Hochman for giving this blog some mention, too.

I want to give a quick shout out to ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons and Henry Abbott (of True Hoop fame), and Brett Edwards of AOL Fanhouse and Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype.com for mentioning this blog on several occasions. And of course, many thanks to the "dean of sports bloggers," Will Leitch at Deadspin, for having my back when Coach Karl’s “lawyer” threatened to sue me.

Thirdly, I want to thank the folks who have interviewed me, starting with Radio Colorado Network’s “The Mile High Mouth,” Dino Costa. Dino was the first person to reach out to me for an interview, and his passion for improving the Nuggets in an uncompromising way continues to amaze me. I also want to thank 850 KOA’s Dave Logan and Lois Melkonian, and Fox News 11’s Eric Goodman for hearing me out when the blog first launched, and finally 104.3 The Fan’s Mike Evans and Sandy Clough whom – even though we got off to a rocky start together – have since agreed to disagree in a cordial manner and, like Dino, I know they only want what’s best for the Nuggets and their fans at the end of the day.

And most importantly, I want to thank Bret Adams, Esq., Coach Karl’s “lawyer” from Columbus, Ohio. If it wasn’t for Mr. Adam’s obnoxious, inappropriate and unprofessional threat of a lawsuit against me, this blog would have never received the notoriety and popularity that it has. Bret, I couldn’t have gotten this far without you.

So let’s get the Nuggets a Larry O’Brien trophy already!

Sincerely,

Andrew

Carmelo Anthony is a lightweight...

In addition to being a self-admitted quitter in the NBA Playoffs, Carmelo Anthony is apparently a lightweight, too. The news just broke in Denver that Melo's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, even though the two-time All-Star and Olympian claimed he had "only two glasses of wine" before driving.

One could hope that between suffering his fifth-straight first round playoff exit (a sweep no less) soon after getting his first DUI (you're all growns-up, congrats!), Melo would finally eat his humble pie, use these events as motivation, and come into training camp in ridiculously good shape next season.

But hey, that'd just be silly!

"We'll do it my way next year" (and thoughts on today's coaching changes)...

The Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson continues to do a great job covering the Nuggets, while never delivering good news for readers of this blog. Tomasson apparently interviewed George Karl today, and Karl said (as he did in his interview with Mike and Sandy earlier) that he will be more of a disciplinarian next season.

Karl's 3-16 record in the playoffs coaching the Nuggets notwithstanding, this reminds me of when parents spoil their kids rotten until they're teenagers, and then wonder why their kids don't work hard in high school.

Meanwhile, my old sparring partner Professor David J. Berri of the "Wages of Wins Journal" is serving up what he calls a "Zen-like vision" for the Nuggets. As he does better than anyone in the business, Professor Berri crunches the numbers to produce his conclusions (whereas I just watch the games and yell at the coach and players the whole time). I may not agree with Berri's assessment, but I can't fight the numbers. And remember, Professor Berri, you'll have a job on my staff when Stanley Kroenke ousts Mark Warkentien and brings me on board to run the Nuggets!

My two cents: what does an NBA coach have to do to get fired in Denver these days? Earlier today, Avery Johnson got canned in Dallas after two straight first round playoff exits, three years removed from taking the Mavericks to the NBA Finals. And while it's not 100% official yet, word out of Phoenix is that Mike D'Antoni is also gone after one first round playoff exit, three years removed from back-to-back conference finals appearances...after revolutionizing the way basketball is played in the NBA for the benefit of all of us.

I strongly disagree with these coaching removals.

Both Johnson and D'Antoni - while far from being perfect coaches (who is?) - give more than 100% to their profession. Pregame, in-game and postgame, you'd be hard pressed to find two more passionate coaches. They were both sandbagged by bad trades imposed upon them by impatient ownership and management, and did the best they could. In Johnson's case specifically, he really got screwed with Jason Kidd: the poor man's Fat Lever and a notorious coach killer.

I'd welcome either Johnson or D'Antoni in Denver.

To all my detractors that think I'm a "can the coach" kind of guy, that couldn't be more untrue. I applaud Kroenke for being patient and giving a coach and a group of players time to gel. But there's a healthy medium between patience and going 3-16 in the playoffs over four seasons.

And until this blogger is proven wrong, I will continue to demand a coaching change and recommend personnel "adjustments" once we know where the lottery picks fall into order and how the free agent market shakes out.

George Karl is coming back (at least, according to George Karl)...

104.3 The Fan's Mike and Sandy ("The Sports Guys") interviewed George Karl this morning. When discussing the unwavering support he gets from Stanley Kroenke and upper management, Karl mentions "laughing" about the "internet stuff in February" (umm...that would be me), and he seems pretty confident that he's coming back. Ugh.

The good news for Nuggets fans is that they can start planning their vacations for May of 2009 before the airfare and hotel prices go up in June. Because trust me, we'll have nothing better to do.

I've had very public differences with Mike and Sandy since my blog launched. While I believe the Nuggets need a coaching change and a personnel change, Mike and Sandy have supported the coach throughout the season and still do. But to Mike and Sandy's credit, they've put me on the air several times to defend my views and have been very responsive to my questions. Agree to disagree, I guess.

Mike D'Antoni? Fuggedaboutit...

With rumors swirling that Mike D'Antoni is out as the Phoenix Suns head coach after losing to the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the first round, a lot of commenters and emailers are suggesting the Nuggets go after him.

George Karl going nowhere aside, the second D'Antoni gets the axe in Phoenix he'll be on the first flight out to Toronto to reunite with GM Bryan Colangelo. Hell, if I was D'Antoni I'd be getting my Canadian work visa now.

The Bobcats are serious about winning an NBA Championship...

As if the Nuggets getting unceremoniously swept from the NBA Playoffs by the Lakers this week wasn't depressing enough, salt was poured into the collective wounds of Nuggets fans everywhere when the Charlotte Bobcats hired Larry Brown as their new head coach. You heard it here first: the Bobcats will be in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference next season (of course, I predicted that the Milwaukee Bucks would be the "surprise team in the East" this season, so it shows you what I know).

When the guy who drafted Kwame Brown, traded Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse and hired Leonard Hamilton and Sam Vincent gets a leg up on you (with all due respect to His Airness), you know your franchise is in trouble.

As readers of this blog well know, I've harbored fantasies of bringing Brown back to the Nuggets - the first "NBA team" he ever coached - as head coach for the 2008-09 season. But I never seriously thought he'd come back. Not only is he a good and loyal friend of George Karl's, but it was highly unlikely, if not altogether improbable, that Nuggets owner Stanley Kroenke would invest $4-$5 million a year in Brown while having to pay Karl his $3 million annual salary.

But while Coach Karl talked about the Nuggets winning "a playoff series" as a benchmark of success during his Game 4 postgame press conference (a quote ticket-paying fans should be appalled by), by hiring Brown the Bobcats showed their fans that they're serious about going for more than just a playoff series win.

Jeff Van Gundy, anyone? Anyone?!

More reaction to Game 4...

First, all the readers of this blog have to read this comment posted today courtesy of "Lord Sam," one of this site's most frequent contributors.

"Lord Sam" accurately sums up how Coach Karl and his defenders continually duped us fans (and apparently Nuggets owner Stanley Kroenke) into thinking this was a successful season...

My expectations for this team have had to be lowered constantly during this season.

1. Start of the Season - A #3 seed going into the playoffs. Maybe I put too much stock into the "we can win 60 games this year nonsense". Then when Karl heard those numbers he said, "Whoa, maybe 55". In retrospect it sounds really crazy. 55 wins for you clowns?

2. Mid-Season - Home Court in the 1st round. I thought we still had a shot to catch the Jazz at this point. I, like some of you, felt that the Nuggets could get their act together and take care of business.

3. Late Season - Make the Playoffs. Ok, forget about a top seed and home court, just get in the playoffs, we'll do some damage once we are in!

4. The Lakers Series - Six Games. Ok, the Lakers are a great team, but I want to see them get pushed by the Nuggets; give 'em hell, maybe steal a game in LA; and make me proud!

5. Games 3 & 4 - Just play hard. Go down fighting, give it your all and most of all...Give Us something to Build on for Next Year!!

For some media reactions, I recommend reading the Denver Post's Mark Kiszla's editorial calling for Karl to go. As I've said before, Kiszla deserves major props for being the ONLY Denver sports columnist to demand Karl's ouster. Moreover, while Kiszla doesn't take up for the players, he at least points out the reality that Karl can't coach them anymore.

Meanwhile, the Rocky Mountain News' Dave Krieger continues to fall into the players-are-to-blame camp (at least he didn't refer to Karl as a "zookeeper" today). And on 104.3 The Fan this morning, The Sports Guys continued to defend Karl and place most of the blame on the players. I guess going 3-16 in four playoff series is satisfactory.

On ESPN's "Around the Horn," Woody Paige and Tim Cowlishaw defended Karl, while Jay Mariotti and Kevin Blackistone questioned the judgment behind keeping a coach with a .158 winning percentage in the playoffs with the franchise.

And of course, Radio Colorado Network's Dino Costa pulls no punches and tackles Karl's ridiculous postgame excuse about having "not enough luck in finding the right matchup" in the playoffs. And here is part 2 and 3 of that rant.

The 5 Stages of an Aggrieved Nuggets Fan...

As the Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson pointed out in his recap of the Nuggets 107-101 season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Denver Nuggets concluded the 2007-08 NBA Season by getting swept in a four-game series for the first time in team history.

So we have that going for us, which is nice.

As I delete the 27th text message sent to me tonight from a Laker fan (#27 reads: "domination. pure and simple"), I've officially succumbed to the fifth stage of grief about my beloved Nuggets: Acceptance. Applying the Kubler-Ross model, allow me to eulogize "the season that should've been but wasn't" from one fan's perspective...

STAGE 1: DENIAL

After head coach George Karl's Nuggets lost to the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the first round of the 2007 playoffs - the team's fourth straight first round loss without mustering so much as two wins, and the third straight such loss under Karl - Karl said that the Nuggets players needed to "respect the regular season" more going into 2007-08. The implication being that if they took the regular season more seriously, they could avoid another first round match up with the eventual Western Conference Championship team.

At the beginning of this season, the Nuggets players predicted a 60-win season and a possible division title in order for the Nuggets to secure something higher than a 7th or 8th playoff seed. Moreover, most NBA pundits were forecasting the Nuggets to finish somewhere between 3rd and 5th in the tough Western Conference, given the relative health, talent and experience of the roster and coach.

So while the Nuggets early season losses to inferior opponents like the Isiah Thomas-coached Knicks, the Clippers, the Pacers and Blazers (at home), coupled with blowout losses to quality opponents like the Celtics, Rockets and Lakers - while routinely giving up 60 points at halftime - should have set off some alarm bells among the fans and the media, Karl pacified us by pointing to the injuries to Chucky Atkins and Nene and feeding us quotes like "I thought we did a good job most of the night."

STAGE 2: ANGER

As the 2007-08 season progressed, however, the Nuggets continued to give up 60 - and in many cases, 70 - points at halftime against both quality and inferior opponents. Throw in some inexplicable losses to piss-poor Eastern Conference teams like the Hawks, Bobcats, Bulls and Bucks (not to mention barely squeaking by the Heat, the NBA's worst team, in overtime) and Karl and the team's laissez-faire approach to each regular season game wasn't flying with the fans or the media anymore. The local newspapers' sports columnists finally turned their attention away from the Broncos, Rockies and Avalanche (albeit briefly) and started questioning Karl and the Nuggets desire to win games.

And of course, out of anger I launched this blog to fire up Karl by suggesting the team fire Karl (sorry for the tongue twister), hoping that a) Karl would give an effort that's consistent with his $3 million salary and, b) that the players would rally around their coach and finally "respect" the regular season.

But all I got for my efforts was the threat of a lawsuit from Karl's "lawyer".

STAGE 3: BARGAINING

The collective vitriol aimed at Karl and the Nuggets by the fans (at Pepsi Center or via blogs like this one) and the Denver sports media didn't change the fortunes - or the nightly effort - of the team. After the NBA All-Star break, the Nuggets slipped perilously into 8th - and sometimes 9th - place in the Western Conference standings. What was once a team we all expected to compete for the 1st seed in the conference was now fighting just to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs (again)...and somehow everyone was okay with this!! Karl and the Nuggets media surrogates like Scott Hastings and Chris Marlowe spoke of how amazing 50 wins would be, and how anything can happen when you make the playoffs. So instead of holding the coach and players accountable for dropping out of contention for a title (read: underachieving), we rooted them on with everything we had just to make the playoffs.

And "make the playoffs" they did - as an 8th seed on the second-to-last day of the regular season.

STAGE 4: DEPRESSION

In the playoffs, the Nuggets collection of flaws - no set offense, terrible defensive effort, complete lack of composure, rushed jump shots, refusal to play hard on every possession, over-dribbling, too much standing around, constant whining with the refs (which turns the refs against us when we need them most, see: Game 4!), and so on - were exposed to their fullest effect against the Los Angeles Lakers; a classy, serious, well-coached, professional basketball team that will likely represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. To make matters worse, Nuggets fans watched the 8th-seed Atlanta Hawks, a team that won 29 less games than their opponent, pull off two gutty home wins against the far superior Boston Celtics. While the Hawks were channeling the 1993-94 Nuggets, the 2007-08 Nuggets - winners of only seven less games than the Lakers - couldn't get one measly playoff win, and never had a shot in three of the four games in which they lost.

Never forgetting what the expectations were going into the season, I haven't felt this upset about a home team since the Broncos lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1996 NFL Playoffs (and yes, I was at that game, too).

STATE 5: ACCEPTANCE

And now that the season is over, we have to accept that this Nuggets team - as currently constructed - is going absolutely nowhere in the Western Conference.

Never ever.

A coaching change, something I still believe we are in dire need of, isn't going to solve all the Nuggets problems. Nuggets owner Stanley Kroenke - he of a (thankfully) enormous checkbook and passion for basketball to boot, but little instinct into what makes a winning NBA team - should also be considering changes in management and parting with certain members of the Nuggets' roster.

During the off-season, this blog will make such recommendations after reviewing the free agent market and the results of the NBA Draft Lottery (which, as a lifelong Nuggets fan, used to be my favorite night of the year and in a weird way, I kind of miss it). And of course, I still need to complete my breakdown of the Mark Warkentien / Bret Bearup / Rex Chapman Administration. I'm not letting those guys off the hook.

And what about the future of firegeorgekarl.com going into 2008-09? Well, like Coach Karl himself said during tonight's TNT broadcast: during the off-season I'm going to consult with the people I love (i.e. you, my readers) and see if I'm ready for another go-around with this.

But rest assured, this blog will continue in one form or another. That is, of course, if you'll have me back!

Monday morning links...

The Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson is reporting that several Nuggets players want George Karl back next season.

Tomasson's colleague Dave Krieger is defending George Karl and in doing so suggests that the Nuggets 50-win season was miraculous given how "uncoachable" the players are.

The Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman is also reporting that Karl's job is secure and gives this blog a nice shoutout (thanks!).

Game 4 Preview: What're we going to learn about Karl and the Nuggets tonight?...

I haven't been writing previews for each of the Nuggets playoff games against the Los Angeles Lakers because, really, what's the point? As long as head coach George Karl refuses to make substantive adjustments from game to game, why should we as fans believe that the outcome of each contest will be different from the previous blowout loss?

But going into what could very well be the Nuggets last game of the season when they face the Lakers in Game 4 at Pepsi Center tonight, it's worth mentioning that this game - like Game 3 - will tell us almost everything about Karl's relationship with this current group of Nuggets players. Which is why I find it most peculiar that the Denver media is reporting that Karl's job is safe at this juncture. If this is true, while it doesn't quite rival New York Knicks owner James Dolan giving Isiah Thomas a contract extension in the middle of the 2006-07 season (which Thomas rewarded Dolan by finishing the season 33-49), it's almost as inane.

But we'll address Karl's future at the end of this post, and in more detail when the season is officially over.

For now, I want to focus on whether or not Karl has lost this team internally (as Chris Webber suggested on TNT yesterday), or if these players are willing to go to the mat for him one more time and thank the hometown fans for allocating their hard-earned money towards playoff tickets.

If Carmelo Anthony's "just don't sit there!!" fourth quarter tirade aimed at Karl or his "from the coaches to the players, we quit" post-game tirade are any indication, Karl has already lost Carmelo...not that that's hard to do. And it should be noted that Melo has been just as much of a dud as a player in this series as Karl has been as a coach.

Forgetting Melo's words and (in)actions - something the Nuggets organization might consider doing permanently - what Nuggets fans should pay the most attention to tonight is how veterans with NBA Finals experience and enormous paychecks like Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin respond to being yanked early in Game 3 ... something Karl waited until the 85th game of the season to do. When asked by TNT's Craig Sager why he thinks Karl took him out of the game, Iverson retorted "ask him" and said he was insulted, but then - as diplomatically as possible - said "he’s the coach and he was doing what was best for the team." Let's see if his actions mirror his words.

And what about the rest of the team? Will Linas Kleiza, J.R. Smith and Eduardo Najera continue to put their heads down and go hard to the hole risking injury on every possession? Or will they just take it easy, go through the motions and get their off-season vacations started as soon as possible?

I personally believe Karl lost this group a long time ago. Maybe it was during the playoffs last season when he threw J.R. Smith under the bus for the team's failure to beat the San Antonio Spurs. Maybe it was during this season when Karl refused to get technicals or work the refs on behalf of his players. Regardless of "when" it happened, it's inexplicable to me as to why management would load up a roster with so many talented and yet untradeable players (due to the contracts offered by said management), and then back the coach who's incapable of getting anything out of those players...for four consecutive years!

But maybe Game 3 was just a frustration-driven aberration as Karl has suggested (just like Games 1 and 2 were aberrations, and the 50 or so regular season games in which the Nuggets didn't play hard for Karl were aberrations). Maybe these Nuggets players actually like Karl after all, and are ready for another go-around with him in 2008-09.

I guess we'll know for sure after tonight.

Non-Denver media skewers the Nuggets...

In yet another attempt to get the Nuggets and their coach fired up for Game 4 - since whatever internal motivation techniques they're using don't work - I present a few columns from non-Denver media skewering the Nuggets.

First off, be sure to read the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke's scathing indictment of the Nuggets "performance" in Game 3. In this column, Plaschke calls the Nuggets "disgraceful," the "junior varsity" and a "wretched basketball team." Meanwhile, Plaschke's colleague T.J. Simers says that "the Lakers have officially demolished the Nuggets," and then takes a few extra pot shots at the other Denver teams that imploded yesterday.

The Orange County Register's Jeff Miller calls Denver the "Mile Low City" and questions whether the Nuggets can "even survive themselves."

And my favorite, over at Deadspin, Basketbawful's Matt McHale (no relation to the incompetent GM in Minnesota), has compared the Nuggets to the French army. And as much as I'd like to say "Bon voyage" to Coach Karl, it appears he's not going anywhere. Merde!