When is Enough, Enough?
8 05 2008You really have to feel for the Denver Nuggets franchise. Despite putting up the third largest combined salary in the NBA, they were the only team swept out of the first round.
Denver owner E. Stanley Kroenke has never shied from spending his cash to make improvements on the roster… but either he’s getting some very bad information on those roster decisions, or he’s guilty of pulling the trigger precipitously on personnel choices all by his lonesome.
Given the velocity of which the Nuggets departed the playoffs, it’s clear that the assembled players aren’t working out - despite the plenitude of talent there. Clearly, there are problems that require resolution before this roster goes any where.
And what’s the problem?
Maturity.
When the most mature senior guy on your roster is Allen Iverson, your club has issues. The 2003 drafting of Carmelo Anthony was a good move, but he needed to be surrounded by a group of players that were going to set a good example for him, both on and off the court, so that he could develop into the player that his potential prescribed.
There’s no doubting that ‘Melo has become a fearsome scorer… but on defense he’s a liability, and off the court he’s a veritable man-child, the focus being on the latter part of that oft-used expression.
Carmelo Anthony is the Peter Pan of the NBA, the ‘Boy Who Would Not Grow Up’.
Now he’s the much-maligned face of a much-maligned franchise. Cited for marijuana possession, not once but twice. Numerous traffic violations. The infamous “Stop Snitchin’” video. Then the April 14th DUI this year. And most recently, on Saturday 3rd of May - ‘Melo was arrested for speeding. Add this to his cheap-shot on Mardy Collins in the infamous Knicks-Nuggets brawl on Dec 16th 2006… and too many clashes with coaches to mention (”Don’t just sit there!“).
Quite simply, Carmelo Anthony doesn’t get it.
At least not in the way that LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and numerous others of the 2003 draft do. If James is the poster-boy for what’s right with the NBA, then Anthony is his polar opposite - a lesson in what’s wrong with the NBA.
Who have his guardians been? His paradigms supplied by his club? Allen Iverson and Kenyon Martin. Nice choices there.
Iverson is a singularly amazing talent, but his off-court behavior isn’t always have you jumping up and down proclaiming what a fine example he sets. K-Mart has been a player of All-Star caliber, but of recent times he’s been far more talk than walk. Both have cultured a such a ‘bad-boy’ rep that whether or not it’s intentional is irrelevant.
It’s simply is.
Carmelo Anthony has a had a veritable shopping list of chances, and the continual litany of “yes-I-get-it-now” & promises broken just rings on deaf ears now.
Just recently, post his DUI, Carmelo apologized to both the Denver Nuggets, the fans of the team and citizens of Denver itself. Now it’s apparent to all and sundry just how much Anthony valued that apology. Look at the picture to the right. Denver: this is who you want to be the face of your franchise?
So what to do with Anthony? A while back, on the blog ‘Fire George Karl’ (which by-the-way is still in existence, but now renamed ‘Denver Stiffs‘), a commenter mentioned that he felt that Karl wasn’t the reason behind the many failures of the team, but that the ‘face of the franchise’, Carmelo Anthony, was responsible. He suggested that someone could make a site called “Sell ‘Melo”… and that could truly be what Denver need to do before they can get back on track.
Dump the guy. Get some value for him now, before he commits a faux pas of truly Michael Vick proportions.
It’s inevitable.
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
By all means, lose the 25 and 7 young guy who might be able to turn it around, but keep the 60+ year old coach with the big reputation and lack of playoff success.
If it’s my team, I suspend ‘Melo for a year and miss the playoffs if necessary — but I do not trade Bernard King II for 40 cents on the dollar while keeping a coach that’s in it only for the payday, and who just spent the last year mailing it in.
If you want to run some knuckleheads from the back end of the roster, fine — no one’s really going to miss these guys, especially since they never show up for road games, anyway. But dumping ‘Melo at his lowest possible market value is how you recreate the Nelson/Webber Warriors. If it’s time to blow up the team, start with something that has actual peak value — that’d be Camby, who is due for a huge injury any minute now anyway.
On Camby - true… but on ‘Melo - do you really wait for the imminent ‘error of judgment’ of truly monumental proportions a la Michael Vick?
And who would you say is the NBA player most likely to commit said error? Anthony.
On Karl, I don’t necessarily think that he should stay, but Kroenke has a helluva lot of cash owed to Officer Krupke. That’s several million reasons why he’ll still be in charge of the boys-in-baby-blue next season.
[...] Doctors - Body checks, closeouts, and flopping—all in a day’s work for the Spurs. - With Malice… - A lack of maturity is amongst the Denver Nuggets’ many problems. - Raw Sports Blog - [...]
this crap about getting rid of Melo is so tired. If it was not for Melo Denver would not have even been in the playoffs for 5 straight seasons, been in a position to get AI. Karl, as much as I like him, has mismanged this team. They need to play JR Smith more, and learn some plays. They expect their offence to actually lead to defense. It should be the other way around. Melo ressurected this franchise and to blame him is crap and lazy way to say the Nuggs have too much talent to lose in the first round all the time. BTW how many times has KG been outta of the first round? T-Mac has NEVER been outta round one. So should Houston dump him now? (even though I think he was an ingrate in Orlando and Toronto) Never until the T-wolves really sucked and the ownership knew it did they ever think of trading Garnett. These debates are tiresome
This mythical ‘they’ you refer to… the players?
So, you acknowledge that there’s a culture of ‘lackadaisical effort’ at Denver, right?
Yes, Anthony’s presence did (notice tense?) resurrect the franchise, but now it’s simply a millstone. And you’ll please note that it’s not questions of playing that make me think that the Nuggs should dump Melo (tho’ while we’re discussing it, it’s average: point me to a good game he had against the Lakers in round 1) - but his entire attitude.
It’s a tired, but somewhat true cliche - but teams do take on the personalities of their stars. The Denver Nuggets have Melo & AI.
You bring up KG & T-Mac. Do you really think they are capable of an implosion of Vickian standards? Carmelo Anthony clearly is.
i’m curious - i imagine a town like Denver sucks so bad, that players just go crazy. what is there to do in a town like Denver except smoke up?
nuttin wrong with Melo. the problem is Denver and every other podunk town in america.
“dude! we won! let’s go get a burrito at the local TGI Fridays, buoyyyy!”
Denver is a pretty sweet place actually. You ever been to Colorado, Peter? No? Then shut the f#%k up.
Not only does Denver have the benefits all of Colorado shares (the mountains, great weather, Plenty of space), but it has a killer downtown and plenty of stuff to do. It has the air of a good West Coast City.
In conclusion, your argument stinks. Maybe you should quit eating so many turds.
burrito for eduardo najera..