Nuggets' future can be bright if they get rid of older stars who are

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 15, 2008 | by DAVID RAMSEY

Here's my solution to the Denver Nuggets' problems.

The Nuggets should trade Allen Iverson to the New Orleans Hornets for point guard Chris Paul and ship Marcus Camby to the Orlando Magic for center Dwight Howard.

Presto. The Nuggets win NBA titles for the next decade. Ah, it would be beautiful to watch. Alas, NBA reality isn't so simple. Fixing the Nuggets will be infinitely more complicated. Yet there's a basic philosophy to follow. Dump -- or at least try to dump -- the salaries of players who have seen their best days and keep the players whose best days are ahead. That means discarding Camby and Iverson and embracing Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Nene. Camby, 34, will be easy to move. He's becoming, strangely enough, less injury-prone in his old age. He's a superb shotblocker, and he still outruns opposing centers on fast breaks.

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He's also, as Denver fans know, overrated as an inside defensive presence. The Los Angeles Lakers shredded Camby, exposed all his shortcomings. Still, he could be swapped for the true point guard the Nuggets require to rise in the West.

The Nuggets made a mistake in trading the defensive-oriented, no- flash Andre Miller for Iverson, basketball's version of a circus.

Yes, he's fun to watch, but that's the problem. Once he starts his show, teammates stand around as spectators.

And Iverson does nothing to improve Anthony, the team's future. The duo didn't clash, but hasn't meshed, either. It's past time for a basketball divorce.

Iverson won't be easy to move. He'll earn nearly $21 million next season -- at least twice his market value -- but if the Nuggets are willing to eat a portion of his salary, he'll be grabbed by a team that needs a boxoffice star.

Anthony should stay. I know he's been a consistent knucklehead. I know he dislikes passing and defending, two rather crucial elements.

Dolph Schayes led the Syracuse Nationals to the 1955 NBA championship and is among the best power forwards in history. He's examined Anthony's game for years. He's not a big fan.

"He basically hasn't won anything yet," Schayes said from his home in suburban Syracuse, N.Y. "He's got to become more of a team player to become elite. When he gets the ball, everything stops while he does his thing."

Schayes is correct, but Anthony can add those strengths to his game. He's only 23. He can be taught.

You can't teach talent. Anthony ranks among the 10 most dangerous players on the planet with the ball in his hands. He averaged 25.7 points this season, shot 49 percent and grabbed 7.4 rebounds, a career-high. Those are monster numbers.

In five years, we could realize Anthony's promise was a mirage.

Or, more likely, we could watch a superstar.

Smith, 22, makes Iverson expendable. He's a younger, taller, cheaper version of Iverson. He's burdened by his own long list of blunders -- on and off the court -- but still worth the risks.

The Nuggets have reason for optimism, and the biggest reason is the clock ticking on your wall. The NBA's Western Conference is filled with fantastic, yet fading, stars.

The Spurs' Tim Duncan is 32. The Mavericks' Jason Kidd is 35. The Suns' Steve Nash hits 34 next month.

The smart bet is on tomorrow, and Camby and Iverson are all about yesterday.

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Columnist David Ramsey can be

reached at 476-4895 or david.

ramsey@gazette.com.