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Read More: George Karl (H – DEN), Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have been all over the NBA preseason power rankings this week, from as low as No. 19 to as high as No. 5. ESPN’s Marc Stein finally checks in with his own just two days before the start of the season. After finishing at No. 6 in Stein’s last edition all those months ago, the Nuggets open as the No. 9 team, believing that there’s too much of a disparity between a great season and one of doom and gloom:

I hear fretting about the $110 million investment in Nene and Afflalo. I hear Hollinger has the Nuggets forecasted to be the second-best team in the West. I would suggest Denver’s fate lies somewhere between such proclamations of doom and dominance.

That’s a fair take on the team entering the season. Concerns over how the team will work together after a sizable roster turnover fail to take into account that George Karl now has a team capable of doing what he wants: being a fast team that attacks the basket.

Only the Oklahoma City Thunder rank higher among the Northwest Division teams. They are the No. 3 team, behind only the No. 1 Dallas Mavericks and the No. 2 Miami Heat. Will the Thunder be able to shove their way past the Mavericks and make it to the Finals against the Heat?

For more on the Denver Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs. Keep up with the rest of the league by visit SB Nation NBA.

What are your opinions.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

Read More: George Karl (H – DEN), Denver Nuggets

Are the Denver Nuggets a sleeper pick in the NBA this season? If they are, it appears that Sports Illustrated’s Britt Robson is already feeling the Nuggets to be the surprise team of the season. In his preseason NBA power rankings, Robson places the Nuggets as his No. 5 team:

[George Karl] also has a nice mix of unselfish, well-paid stars and hungry role players who will scrap with opponents at both ends of the court in the high altitude. It is a situation tailor-made for his preferred coaching style. Don’t sleep on Denver [...] The Nuggets have a roster — and a coach — that can wear you out.

Robson is definitely more upbeat about the Nuggets than other power rankings writers. Others see the Nuggets struggling to create new chemistry after losing Wilson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith to China. However, retaining Nene and Arron Afflalo has far more impact than losing those other three since they weren’t going to return anyway (Chandler, though, could have been an exception).

Predictably, the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks and the Chicago Bulls take up three of the top four spots. The surprise, though, comes in at No. 2. The Oklahoma City Thunder take that spot. They could be the new powerhouse team in the NBA.

For more on the Denver Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs. Keep up with the rest of the league by visit SB Nation NBA.

What do you guys think about this.

DENVER (AP)

The Denver Nuggets have agreed to a five-year deal with restricted free agent Arron Afflalo.

The Denver Post first reported Monday night the guard had agreed to a contract that could be worth up to $43 million.

Nuggets coach George Karl was preaching the importance of bringing back Afflalo, the player he considered the ”glue guy” of the team.

Afflalo averaged 12.6 points last season and took on a bigger leadership role once Denver dealt Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks last February. The team went 18-7 the rest of the way to make the playoffs.

This is the second deal Denver has orchestrated in a week. The team also re-signed Nene to a five-year, $67 million deal.

The Nuggets open the preseason on Tuesday by hosting Phoenix.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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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.

What do you guys think about this.

Read More: Matt Prater (K – DEN), Tim Tebow (QB – DEN), Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos

As excitement over Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos seems to grow by the week, even Denver Nuggets coach George Karl — who is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan — has gotten caught up in it. When asked about Tebow by media members, Karl had this to say:

“I’ve always felt that leadership by words is overrated – leadership by example, approach and attitude is what people follow. And passion and enthusiasm is contagious. There’s an energy that comes with that. He’s a guy who believes in himself, has a spiritual belief.”

Karl added that there was no doubt in his mind that Denver would win after Matt Prater tied the score at 10. He was also asked which player might be Tim Tebow’s NBA equivalent and suggested Spurs guard Manu Ginobili.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of Tim Tebow, head over to Broncos blog Mile High Report. Head over to SB Nation NFL for more from around the league.

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Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

DENVER (AP)—The Denver Nuggets held a rare Friday night practice for their
first post-lockout workout, boosting their roster to 11 players with the signing
of first-round pick Kenneth Faried of Morehead State and three other rookies.

Also added to the roster was guard Jordan Hamilton, the 26th overall
selection by Portland who was acquired as part of a three-team draft-day trade,
and undrafted free-agents Cory Higgins and Julyan Stone.

Higgins played at Colorado and is the son of former NBA player Rod Higgins,
who was once coached by Nuggets coach George Karl when they were both with
Golden State. Stone is the Texas-El Paso’s career assists leader.

The Nuggets also remain hopeful of re-signing free-agent center Nene and
guard Arron Afflalo, a restricted free agent.

What do you guys think about this.

Ryan Bowen is headed back to the National Basketball Association. But he’s trading his uniform for a whistle.

Bowen, 36, who was in his second season on Iowa coach Fran McCaffery’s staff as a video coordinator and administrative assistant, has accepted a job with the Denver Nuggets. His role will include scouting, coaching and video work.

I think he would have been a terrific college coach,” McCaffery said before Friday’s game with Iowa State. “He’ll be a terrific pro coach. Obviously, he has a reputation (in the NBA) already. I think he’ll be in the pro game for a very long time and be very good at it. I would not be surprised — in fact, I expect it — that he will be a head coach. He has that ability. It will just take a little time.”

A native of Fort Madison, Bowen played at Iowa from 1994-98, scoring 1,090 points and grabbing 804 rebounds. He also holds the Hawkeyes’ career record for steals (208) and ranks fourth in blocked shots (124) and eighth in rebounding.

“I hope it works out for him long term,” McCaffery said. “Denver’s a good organization. They’ve got a good team. (Denver coach) George Karl is established. They have good, young players and they’re a playoff team.”

Bowen played 11 seasons professionally, 10 of them in the NBA for Denver, Houston New Orleans and Oklahoma City. He retired in 2010.

Bowen, who did not return calls seeking comment, did not accompany the Iowa team to Ames for Friday’s game. McCaffery is unsure how he’ll fill Bowen’s vacancy.

“I haven’t really thought about that,” he said.

Tags: Iowa Hawkeyes, men’s basketball, Ryan Bowen

Category: Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball

That’s all for today.

Read More: knicks schedule, nuggets schedule, Carmelo Anthony (F – NYK), New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets

The New York Knicks will not visit the Denver Nuggets in the 2011-12 season, reports Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. That means that Nuggets fans won’t get an opportunity to see their old All-Star Carmelo Anthony in his new blue and orange wardrobe and thank him for his years of service … or boo him lustily for the way he left the team.

Whether it’s accurate or not, there exists the belief that ‘Melo forced a trade to the Knicks by refusing to sign an extension with the Nuggets and indicating he wouldn’t sign a new deal with any number of teams with better packages than what New York could offer. Nonetheless, Denver came up aces in the ‘Melo trade, scoring Danilo Gallinari, the new focal point of George Karl’s offense, and restricted free agent Wilson Chandler, who is busy dominating the Chinese Basketball Association.

Because of the lockout-shortened schedule, teams will miss scheduled stops in a number of cities whose teams play in the opposite conference.

Gotta run!.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

By Mike Prada

– Editor

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Sep 8, 2011 – Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith is closing in on a record contract to sign to play in the Chinese Basketball Association next season, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Smith, a free-agent guard from the Denver Nuggets, is looking at a deal that could pay him $3 million for next season, according to the report.

Smith is a talented, but erratic scorer who has been in and out of Denver coach George Karl’s doghouse in his five-year career with the Nuggets. He is still only 26 years old and has averaged 12.5 points in just 23.9 minutes per game during his NBA career.

He is slated to be an unrestricted free agent. It’s unclear how wed to retaining Smith the Nuggets are; Denver also has a number of other free agents to deal with this summer and was likely going to put Smith on the backburner.

Smith becomes the second free agent to flirt with signing in China. Teammate Wilson Chandler signed there a couple weeks ago.

For more on Smith, visit Denver Stiffs and SB Nation Denver.

Read More: J.R. Smith (F – DEN), Wilson Chandler (G – DEN), George Karl (H – DEN), Denver Nuggets

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About Pat Harty: Columnist Pat Harty has been covering the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Press-Citizen since 1991. Originally from Des Moines, he currently writes columns and covers Hawkeye men’s basketball for Hawk Central. View author profile.

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