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DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets are finally opening their season against the NBA’s defending champions.

Monday’s game against the Mavericks starts at 6:30 p.m. Mountain in Dallas.

The Nuggets realize they will be overlooked this season. They don’t have a bona fide star or a household name on the roster. The closest thing they have is Danilo Gallinari, who averaged 14.7 points after arriving in Denver following the Carmelo Anthony trade.

But coach George Karl insisted having one is merely a luxury and not a mandate. To him, the Mavericks proved that point in winning the NBA title last season. They had one focal point and a reliable complement of players.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Konstantine Demetrios Koufos is nine syllables and seven feet of Greek gargantuan.

Kosta, as he goes by, was deemed a throw-in to the Carmelo Anthony trade in February, but it is possible Koufos will play some key minutes for the Nuggets this season. In Thursday’s preseason game at Phoenix, Koufos scored 15 points with 11 rebounds and two blocks, showcasing his growth from even the past few months.

“He’s confident, he’s big, he had a great summer from the standpoint of his performance with the Greek team,” Nuggets coach George Karl said Friday after the team’s practice at Pepsi Center. “Now it’s — Can he go on the game court and prove that his work has been worthwhile?

“Our front line, how and who plays, it’s probably going to be dictated a lot by who’s playing well — I can’t guarantee anybody minutes, but I think they all could play.”

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Read More: Carmelo Anthony (F – NYK), Andre Miller (G – DEN), Danilo Gallinari (F – DEN), Ty Lawson (G – DEN), George Karl (H – DEN), Kenneth Faried (F – DEN), New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have been getting their squad ready for the start of the NBA season, and on Wednesday Danilo Gallinari and rookie Kenneth Faried made some positive impressions with their play, while Ty Lawson continues his push for playing time with the first unit. Gallinari, acquired from the New York Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony trade last season, is a young forward looking for a breakout season, while rookie first-round pick Kenneth Faried is hoping to translate his college rebounding prowess to the NBA. Vic Lombardi of CBS 102.3FM in Denver spent some time watching the team scrimmage and came away with the following impressions:   

 

With Nene now back in the fold on a five-year, $67 million deal, it is difficult to take the claim about Gallinari being the best player too seriously, but the good news is that there is some visual evidence of improvement from the young talent.

As for the point guard competition between Ty Lawson and crafty veteran Andre Miller, Aaron Lopez of Nuggets.com sees an early 60/40 split favoring Lawson, with additional potential to see both players on the floor at the same time. It will interesting to see how head coach George Karl handles the rotation with two diversely talented point guards at his disposal.

Stay tuned to SB Nation Denver for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the Denver Nuggets be sure to visit Denver Stiffs. Visit SB Nation NBA for more news and notes around the league.

Last year, Carmelo Anthony(notes) forced the Denver Nuggets to find a suitable business partner and move him to a team of his liking by the trade deadline. He made no secret his preference was the Knicks, by dropping anvil-like hints he wouldn’t be signing extensions with any other team, thereby severely limiting the return the Nuggets would have received.

His urgency was driven by the fear that a new collective bargaining agreement would severely limit his options if he waited for free agency. As it turns out, he had very little to worry about, as the new CBA does almost nothing to restrict superstars like Carmelo from naming their team and price. Theoretically, if he had simply waited, he could have joined a Knicks’ team this year that was poised to climb over the hump, with all kinds of quality players at key positions, and options to move some guys in search of a center. Frankly, the Knicks should have allowed that scenario to play out and waited for the summer anyway.

With Carmelo Anthony’s cautionary tale so fresh in everyone’s mind, and no anxiety about a new labor agreement, why is Chris Paul’s(notes) agent requesting a trade to the Knicks before the season starts? Why doesn’t Chris Paul simply decline to sign extensions and prepare to secure a contract with the Knicks via free agency in the summer? As long as it seems his intentions lean that way, and his relationship with Carmelo is as strong as everyone believes it is, why create the very same circus that Anthony and the Knicks endured last year…especially when the world knows the Knicks have absolutely no chips left after stripping the cupboard last year for Carmelo?

I cannot fathom the strategy here. The NBA is calling the shots now for the New Orleans Hornets, and I can’t imagine, nor should anyone else including Chris Paul and his agent, that David Stern will want to engage in the very same activity their lockout sought to avoid. Paul will get to the Knicks soon enough, if that’s his dream. But he should know if it comes to pass that, when he arrives, there’s not likely to be enough dough to sign anyone else beyond Amare Stoudemire(notes), Carmelo Anthony, and himself. They’ll have to play a triangle zone, I guess.

Glenn Vallach has been a basketball fan, player, and coach during his lifetime and, as such, an ardent follower of the NBA even with all its warts. He have also been a New York Knick fan since the days of Howie Komives and Walt Bellamy, when he regularly boarded the IRT Subway at 180th Street in the Bronx for a trip to the Garden to see his heroes.

Sources:

• · Kelly Dwyer, Yahoo! Sports, The Hornets don’t have to lose in any Chris Paul deal
• · Brett Martel, AP Sports Writer, Paul says he’s focused on current Hornets
• · Yahoo! Sports New York Knick page
• · Yahoo! Sports Amare Stoudemire page
• · Yahoo! Sports Carmelo Anthony page
• · Yahoo! Sports Chris Paul page

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Kenyon Martin is about to join J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler as key Denver Nuggets free agents that have decided to play a season in China rather than see how the lockout plays out.

And that leaves the Nuggets screwed for next season.

Martin’s agent Andy Miller confirmed to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post the planned signing with Xingiang Guanghui in the Chinese Basketball Association. That is the team that also has former NBA player Quincy Douby.

“It’s a great opportunity for him to stay in shape and stay fresh,” said Andy Miller, Martin’s agent. “And it also gives him an opportunity to expand his name globally.”

The Chinese Basketball Association has a rule in place that players cannot have opt-out clauses in their contracts, forcing teams to only target players who were to be free agents. The Nuggets have a lot of those.

This means three key rotation players for the Nuggets are gone for the entire next season (there is the possibility of a handshake deal to cut these guys loose when the lockout ends, but don’t bet on it). It’s not that any of these guys individually is irreplaceable, but as a group they are. The Nuggets looked good at the end of last season because they played very team-oriented ball, with a number of quality players willing to defend and make the extra pass. Now that team is breaking up for at least a season.

Martin, age 34, started the 48 games he was healthy last season and was a key part of the Nuggets play bringing a physical inside presence, even though he averaged just 8.6 points per game. J.R. Smith was a sixth man of the year candidate for the Nuggets providing 12.3 points per game, and Wilson Chandler saw significant minutes and started 19 games for the team after coming over from the Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony trade.

All of them will play next season in China.

Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari has signed to play in Italy and Ty Lawson will be in Lithuania, but both of them have opt-out contracts to return to the NBA when the league ends.