In spite of the myriad of distractions engulfing our Nuggets, they have won seven of 10 and find themselves just two games out of the Western Conference’s fourth-seed.
While our rival Utah Jazz implode to the tune of six-straight losses and the Oklahoma City Thunder are essentially playing .500 ball, the Nuggets have (sort of) found their mojo en route to three-straight wins and victors of seven of their last 10 outings. The Nuggets are playing so well, in fact, that they even won Wednesday night in Detroit…a place they hadn’t landed a victory since March of 1995.
With upcoming dates at Cleveland, Philadelphia and New Jersey on the near horizon followed by home dates against Portland and Utah, there's no reason the Nuggets shouldn't keep the good times rolling, even if they're without the services of their top big men.
Given the current winning streak and the winnable games around the corner, the talk on much of Denver sports radio this week has been primarily about the Nuggets keeping Carmelo Anthony. In such a scenario, the Nuggets would be gambling on their lone superstar re-signing in Denver at season’s end rather than risk forgoing $30-something million by Melo signing as a free agent elsewhere under the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement to come.
I honestly don’t know what to think anymore. I remain in the “trade him while you can get something for him” camp, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see this team rack up as many wins as possible while #15 is still here. So I guess the simple answer for now is: enjoy the wins while they last. Because as we were reminded of the 1994-95 Nuggets throughout the Nuggets/Pistons broadcast, a losing season can be just around the corner.
The Business Of Basketball, 2011
According to Forbes, the Nuggets rank 20th in franchise value among all 30 NBA teams and lost $11.7 million last season, fourth-worst in the NBA. Of course, it helps when your owner is listed among the NBA’s 10 wealthiest.
Nuggets' travels lead ’Melo back home – NBA – Yahoo! Sports
Adrian Wojnaworski writes that Melo "wants to be courted" and loves the attention being bestowed upon him, despite what he's saying publicly.
Uneasy Carmelo Anthony talks about his Nuggets future | All Things Nuggets
The Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman gets Melo to admit that he'd be "screwed" if he doesn't sign the Nuggets' (or whomever Melo gets traded to) generous three-year extension before the NBA's new CBA goes into effect.
Wizards Insider – Carmelo Anthony on joining Wizards: "I never really thought about it."
Given its proximity to Melo's hometown of Baltimore, some have floated Washington as a possible destination for Melo. In response to that, Melo says: "They not giving Baltimore no team."
Source: Denver OK dealing with Knicks – CBSSports.com
Now Ken Berger claims that the Nuggets could deal with the Knicks for Melo and suddenly have interest in Anthony Randolph. If true, this reeks of the Nuggets trying to get the Nets back to the table for fear of losing Melo to the Knicks.
From the Archives…
Setting the record straight on the Melo trade rumors… – Denver Stiffs
After the Nuggets were humiliated by the Lakers in a 2008 playoff sweep and rumors abounded that Melo might be traded at George Karl’s behest, I wrote that “this would be a colossal, unforgivable mistake” and compared the (at the time) Karl/Melo rift to that the of Don Nelson and Chris Webber in Golden State many years earlier.
