Then again, it could be June too.
Allen Iverson has until before July 1 to decide if he is going to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Nuggets. Of course, if this is many of us, there is no decision regarding this decision. Simply said: If Iverson walks, he relinquishes a $20.84 million salary for the 2008-2009 season.
The Nuggets first must decide if Iverson is a part of this team's core moving forward. From a surface level perspective, that seems like an easy question to answer. However, even though he led the NBA in minutes played at 32 years old and shows no sign of aging, there are some questions to ponder.
1) Should Iverson return for the final year of his contract, how much pressure is on the team's executives to sign him long term? He has become a fan favorite, but just as importantly, if he plays out 2008-2009 on his current deal with no new extension, then the Nuggets risk losing him with no compensation at the end of next season. That makes very little sense......until you consider this next theory.
2) If they let Iverson walk away at the end of next season, they are essentially saying that they need to change their philosophy in regards to contending or that they simply can't afford to pay a 32-year old nearly they what they pay Carmelo Anthony (23) and Nene Hilario (26). What is the long term benefit of signing an aging player who has tremendous skills but had almost no discernable impact on the team and its playoff pursuit since he arrived?
3) They can try to move Marcus Camby or Kenyon Martin, then sign Iverson, offer a smaller extension to J.R. Smith, and hope to be in be in better shape in regards to their salary structure. Camby has value and Martin has performed better than anyone expected coming off of microfracture surgery. Losing either wouldn't have the effect that losing Iverson would-- from a talent standpoint--- however, it could be more harmful in another way, namely from a defensive perspective. We came to see that this team's deficiencies on defense prevented them from a serious Playoff run. Those two bring a presence on that end of the floor (though Camby struggled towards the end), that would be difficult to replace.
4) Coming into the season, two years ago, the Nuggets badly needed an outside shooter. They had all season to sign a shooter, trade for one, or find one somewhere on the roster. They weren't able to do so and that lack of perimeter marksmanship cost them in the Playoffs. Last season, the issue was defense. They all say they want to play better defense as well. They said that after being eliminated last week, they said in training camp in Durango, they said it a lot, though the question remains, will they actually do it?
5) George Karl is going to come back. After falling behind 3-0 to the Lakers, it looked as though Karl and Iverson were not pals. After the fourth game, Iverson indicated he has no problems with Karl. To me, it stands to reason that, Karl may have issues with players. How tough can Karl be? His guys don't play much defense, however, they try to compensate by turning it up offensively. The proof is there, they have two of the top five scorers in the NBA but if they don't play defense, Karl can't punish those dissenters, simply due to the numbers saying those same guys keep the Nuggets in games due to scoring. He can't frown on their defense since it may cost him offense by sitting those not exerting proper defensive effort. At least Karl, is coming back. As for the case with Allen, who really knows?
See you on Wednesday.
-"z"
