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n24d30
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From the Rocky Mountain News
Marcus Camby's agent was told it was a salary dump.
It was one fit for only the largest city dump.
The Nuggets traded the center to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday in a move that next season could save them more than $22 million when the luxury tax is considered. And what must the Clippers give the Nuggets?
Possibly nothing.
The Nuggets have the option of trading second-round picks in 2010. But if Denver's pick ends up being better than Los Angeles', the Clippers give up nothing.
"They told me it was a salary dump," Camby's agent, Rick Kaplan, said of the Nuggets. "It was shocking. They got nothing in return. . . . They're going to get crushed in public relations. . . . This is one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history."
The Nuggets did receive a $10 million trade exception for a year, which gives them the opportunity to take back that much more than they give up in a deal.
"The deal was made for one compelling reason," said vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien, who said the Nuggets remain in luxury-tax territory. "The trade exception that we get provides us with greater flexibility and more options for potential deals."
Warkentien was asked if he's concerned about the public-relations implications of getting nothing immediate for Camby, who averaged 9.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and an NBA-high 3.61 blocked shots last season.
"It's not a checkers move," he said. "It's a chess move. Chess is a tougher game to understand. You've got to wait longer to see the results of the move."
Kaplan said Camby was "shocked." He said Camby, who played six Nuggets seasons, was most concerned about his charity endeavors in Denver.
"Most of all, I'll miss the Denver community," Camby, who was unavailable for comment, said in a statement. "It became my home. It's where I have my foundation, and I was very involved there."
Before the deal, the Nuggets had nine players with guaranteed contracts totaling more than $79 million. That was $8 million more than the $71.15 million luxury tax threshold.
Camby's base salary next season is $8 million and his cap number is $10 million because of the $2 million in games-played bonuses he got last season. So assuming Camby, 34, plays in 65 or more games next season, the Nuggets would have saved $20 million when the dollar-for- dollar tax is considered.
Camby, whose contract expires after he makes a base of $7.65 million in 2009-10, also has statistical bonuses that kick in if he averages 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Considering he earned $1.25 million for such bonuses in 2006-07, the Nuggets potentially saved more than $22 million for next season.
Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman said he couldn't "venture to guess a percentage" as to when the Nuggets might use their trade exception.
"We're going to continue to do business and make calls," he said.
The Nuggets and the Clippers started talking last week when Elton Brand, who had opted out of his contract, left Los Angeles for Philadelphia.
"We sent word to teams over the luxury tax that we could take money off their hands," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.
Dunleavy said Camby, the 2006-07 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, might end up being a "better fit" than Brand. He spoke with Camby on Tuesday.
"It was a shock to him at first, but I think he knows he's a great fit," said Dunleavy, who plans to start Camby alongside incumbent Clippers center Chris Kaman.
The Nuggets now are thin in the post, with Warkentien saying, "We'll see how this shapes out." There is Nene, who missed much of last season because of testicular cancer, and Steven Hunter, who played sparingly.
"I was thinking something was going to happen because we have so many players making all this money, and we didn't win a playoff game (last season)," Hunter said. "I've got to be prepared to produce (next season). I'm ready to work."
Hunter was in Las Vegas, where the Nuggets are having summer league, from July 9 until Tuesday, working with coaches. Other Nuggets veterans there were Camby, Anthony Carter and J.R. Smith.
Camby had returned to his offseason home in Houston when he heard the news. Kaplan said one reason for his surprise was Nuggets officials had said nothing to him in Las Vegas about a possible deal.
"I thought there was a chance he might be traded, but I thought it might be a trade in which (the Nuggets) were trying to improve themselves," Kaplan said.
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7/16/2008 10:15 AM