DENVER, Aug. 3, 2010 -- The Denver Nuggets announced today that the contracts of executives Rex Chapman and Mark Warkentien will not be extended for the 2010-11 NBA season.

Expect Nuggets to take strong look at Raptors exec Masai Ujiri and Wiz exec Tommy Sheppard as next GM. Kroenke loves both former employees. Former Suns GM David Griffin is also strong candidate for Nuggets GM opening, source tells Y!

But Alex Kennedy says:

Sources close to the situation don't expect Carmelo Anthony to sign an extension with the Denver Nuggets this summer.
Anthony is leaning towards testing free agency next offseason, said sources on the same day that the Nuggets let go of Warkentien, Chapman.
Sources say that Carmelo isn't too worried about next season's potential lockout and he wants to explore his options next summer.
Also, this may be unrelated, but Anthony is preparing to sell his Denver home.

And unrelated but Kennedy also says:

According to sources, Kelenna Azubuike should be ready for the start of the season after undergoing surgery on his right knee in May.

C Randolph, Turiaf, Jordan
PF Stoudemire
SF Gallo, Fields, Walker
SG Anthony, Thompson, Rautins
PG Felton, Douglas

They will also be the opportunity to upgrade to Tony Parker by trade if we choose to do so and if we have the available trade chips.

iSergio wrote:If we played Wilson Chandler at the 2, no reason why we couldn't play Carmelo Anthony at the 2.

Don't think he has the defensive ability (desire?) that Chandler has.

Paladin55 wrote:

iSergio wrote:If we played Wilson Chandler at the 2, no reason why we couldn't play Carmelo Anthony at the 2.

Don't think he has the defensive ability (desire?) that Chandler has.

I don't know why people label Wilson Chandler as a good defender. If anything, he's average. He can block a shot here and there but his man to man defense is nothing special. Carmelo Anthony is a far superior player anyway.

not exactly a conventional lineup... but try to stop it.

Moonangie wrote:

TheGame wrote:For a guy like Anthony, who has endorsement deals and has already made about $70 million in the NBA already, taking the risk that there is a lockout is not going to be a huge thing for him. Even if he did not make another dime from the NBA, he is already set for life. So I could see him taking the chance in FA. Billups is getting older, as is Kenyon Martin and Birdman. While Lawson looks solid, I don't think that Denver team is built to contend for more than 2 years. If Anthony comes to New York, he could find himself in a much better situation long-term. My only concern is that Anthony plays the same position as Gallo and neither can really move to the 2 spot because they cannot guard shooting guards.

I share your concern. It would not make too much sense to keep Gallo at the 3 if we sign Melo. Since we already have Stat playing the 4, that really leaves no room for Gallo. I am eager to see where his game goes this season. If he turns into a star, I would probably want to keep him and go for CP3 as our second max guy instead of Melo. If Gallo doesn't improve enough, I could see using him as a trade asset to add building blocks, youth, or picks AFTER we sign Melo. I am definitely on the Gallo fan wagon, but Melo is a really special player in his prime and we'd be crazy not to let him come to NY.

Yeah, it depends on where Gallo goes from here. If he continues to look like a solid but unspectacular player (say he averages 18-19 pts, 5 rbs, 3 asts a game), I would try and do the same thing we did with Lee. I would trade Chandler and maybe a future pick to denver for Anthony, and then trade Gallo to a team for an upgrade at the 1, 2, or 5 positions. I just don't see any scenario where Gallo becomes a better player than Anthony and I just don't think either can guard the top SGs in this league. I would hate to build this team with a built-in weakness at the 2 spot in trying to force Gallo or Anthony to guard shooting guards.

bernard wrote:Great teams have great players coming off the bench. The Spurs were at their best, for example, with Ginobli as 6th man. I have no problem with Gallo coming off the bench if we get Carmelo. Still plenty of minutes to go around at 2, 3 or 4, depending on match-ups. He may finish as often as whoever is the starting 2.

I agree.

bernard wrote:Great teams have great players coming off the bench. The Spurs were at their best, for example, with Ginobli as 6th man. I have no problem with Gallo coming off the bench if we get Carmelo. Still plenty of minutes to go around at 2, 3 or 4, depending on match-ups. He may finish as often as whoever is the starting 2.

we shall see if the players have the right mindset to handle this... other teams had players who knew their roles (bos/la). its not clear yet which roles we have to fill, and this is before adding mr anthony (if it happens).