July 24, 2008 9:27 PM

Cisco not likely to join Birdman

By Aaron J. Lopez

With Chris Andersen back in a Nuggets uniform, don't expect to see center Francisco Elson return to Denver as well. I talked to Elson's agent Calvin Andrews on Thursday and Elson does not appear to fit in the Nuggets current budget.

"We talked (to the Nuggets), but I don't know if that's going to be the right direction or not (for Elson)," Andrews said. ``The chances (of signing with Denver) have gone down, definitely."

After dumping center Marcus Camby and his $10 million salary cap figure on July 15, the Nuggets clearly are looking to fill their roster with minimum salary guys. Andersen took a one-year minimum deal, as did swingman Dahntay Jones, who agreed to a contract on Thursday. The only exception figures to be restricted free agent J.R. Smith, who ultimately might decide to accept Denver's $3.04 million qualifying offer.

Jones is the 2008 version of Von Wafer, a guy who looked great during the summer league but never saw the light of day at the end of the Nuggets bench. Jones, like Wafer, is a nice practice player who carries little risk.

As for Andersen, it will be interesting to see how he looks after more than two years out of the NBA. While talking to him at the Forza Fitness Center on Thursday, he seemed genuine about changing his life after being banned from the NBA for drug abuse. He said he has been working out 6 to 8 hours a day at the gym and running the stairs at Red Rocks on weekends. He's basically like an Olympic athlete training at high altitude in hopes of having a competitive advantage once the games begin.

Despite Andersen's checkered past, I expect Nuggets fans to welcome Birdman back with open arms. He's a likable guy who's easy to root for, and if he can give the Nuggets 15 to 20 minutes a night, his deal will look like a bargain. If he flops again, the Nuggets will have more public relations issues to deal with while trying to survive the difficult Western Conference.

Posted by Aaron Lopez at 9:27 PM | Comments (1)