HIGHLANDS RANCH — Carmelo Anthony’s whirlwind summer tour stopped in Denver on Saturday — Highlands Ranch, actually — where his annual basketball camp finished a successful day.
But the buzz behind the loads of smiling kids was the same: Will Melo be a Nugget beyond next season?
Anthony, the Nuggets’ superstar forward, addressed the issue in general in a talk with kids and parents in attendance at ThunderRidge High School, and in depth soon thereafter.
The conclusion? Patience.
Anthony has no intention of taking immediate action on a three-year, $65 million contract extension offer from the Nuggets. The offer was put on the table in June and, to this point, is a standing offer.
“I could wake up tomorrow and they could snatch it off the table,” Anthony said. “I don’t know. I don’t know what their mind-set is.”
Asked whether he had a timetable for signing the extension, Anthony matter-of-factly said “No.”
Asked whether he would sign the contract at all, Anthony hedged.
“I’m just taking my time with it,” he said. “Obviously, everybody knows I’m loyal to the Denver Nuggets community and to the Denver Nuggets. I’ve shown that over my seven-year stint here. I don’t think anybody can question that. But at this point in time, I have to do what’s best for me and my family. I’m just taking my time, figuring out if I want to take that extension or not.”
And Anthony can pretty much take as much time as he wants to make a decision whether or not to sign the deal. He actually has a couple of options on his plate. He can sign the contract or pick up his player option for 2011-12, which pays $18.5 million. Either way, he doesn’t have to make any moves until June 30, 2011. As of now, there is no deadline imposed by the Nuggets.
So, it’s a waiting game. Anthony got married this summer. He’s traveled all over, going from New York to Puerto Rico to Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., to name a few stops. And he’s not done, as he finishes a summer full of commitments.
Anthony said a new collective bargaining agreement carries “a lot” of weight in his decision. Depending on the layout of the new CBA — if there is one by the time the current pact ends next summer — Anthony could stand to make considerably less money on a contract extension than what’s currently being offered.
He’s attended meetings between the players association and owners in Dallas during All-Star Weekend last season and in New York last week. The most recent meeting between the two sides showed a glimmer of hope in a situation that appears to be heading toward a lockout following next season.
“We want to come to an agreement,” Anthony said. “We just want to go about it the right way. There’s a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel now.”
But of more immediate concern to Anthony is the state of the Nuggets. They fired executives Mark Warkentien and Rex Chapman. They signed free agents Al Harrington and Shelden Williams. The team has kept him in the loop on a new general manager hiring.
But, Anthony said, the new GM will have little to no effect on his decision to sign.
“I think my decision is my decision,” Anthony said. “I don’t think it’s based on who is in the front office or anything like that. I’m going to make my decision based on my feelings.”
Still, Anthony said, “It’s good to make me feel a part of what’s going on over there. In the past I didn’t want to be a part of those decisions because it was just too much to focus on that and focus on what I gotta do. But now, it’s serious business.”
He talked to Nuggets coach George Karl and expects him back next season. Anthony believes there still is a championship contender waiting to emerge in Denver.
“We still have the same guys on our team that we went to the Western Conference finals with two years ago,” Anthony said. “Whatever happened last year — whether people say it was George Karl’s sickness, injuries, whatever it may be — we didn’t get there.
“Now everybody panics. The panic button is on, GMs get fired, it’s just a lot that goes on with losing. Hopefully we get back on the right track. Kenyon (Martin) is rehabbing right now, (Chris Andersen) is rehabbing. . . . But everybody seems like they are trying to do what’s right to get back.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
