By Russ Oates

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Dec 19, 2011 – The 2011-2012 NBA season is almost upon us, and that must mean that it is time for preseason power rankings to come out. We probably already figured out that the Dallas Mavericks are the No. 1 team, and that’s where they are in NBC Sports’ Pro Basketball Rankings. But how about the Denver Nuggets? They are the No. 13 team, which is a decent starting place for the team heading into the season. Here’s the write up for the Nuggets:

13. Nuggets (50-32). They are fielding the best team in China (J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin and Wilson Chandler are all still there). Keeping Nene was huge for this team.

But here’s the thing, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin were unlikely to return to the Nuggets even before they went over to China. Chandler is a restricted free agent whenever he returns and as it stands, the Nuggets might not match any offer for him.

Retaining Nene is certainly a big part of the Nuggets’ offseason remake, but so too would be retaining Arron Afflalo, who is still waiting for a new deal. Trading for Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer could turn into a good move — the Nuggets traded only a second-round pick for the two of them.

The real competition the Nuggets will be facing in the Northwest Division is the Oklahoma City Thunder, the No. 4 team in these rankings. A division title does not look to be in the Nuggets’ future.

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Read More: Thaddeus Young (F – PHI), Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets

It appears to be a sign of the times. The Denver Nuggets are talking with restricted free agent Thaddeus Young, according to CBS Sports’ Ken Berger. The Nuggets are seemingly prepared for Nene’s departure in free agency. Berger reports that Monday’s talks were a “good conversation” and that both sides will continue to explore a future together.

Young is a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward who was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 12th overall pick of the 2007 draft. Young averaged a career best 15.3 points during his sophomore season when he started 71 of 75 games played. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds per game that season, a number that has gone up incrementally in the last two season while his scoring has dipped a bit.

At 23 years old, Young would certainly fit in with the core of the Nuggets team right now. However, the Nuggets would likely need to offer  him a large contract that the 76ers wouldn’t want to match. Young received a qualifying offer from the Sixers as a restricted free agent.

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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.

Chris Paul is on his way out of New Orleans. Could a stop in New York be in the cards?
2011

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.

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