April 30, 2008 11:42 PM

Karl is Nuggets' coach... unless

NUGGETS' MUSINGS BY CHRIS TOMASSON

THE FUTURE OF KARL

George Karl is the Nuggets coach... unless owner Stan Kroenke says otherwise.
It's that simple.
Karl is expected to return next season as coach. The Rocky Mountain News reported that last Saturday, but did note any decision is ultimately up to Kroenke.
I expect Karl to return, and there have been indications all over regarding that. Karl said Wednesday he expects to return. Asked if he'd be back for sure, he said, "Yeah.''
But there has been no definitive word from Kroenke, and Karl did not say he's been given any specific assurance from the man at the top.
Kroenke had a chance to put all speculation to rest late Monday night after the Nuggets had been swept out of the playoffs by the Lakers. He was asked by Aaron J. Lopez of the Rocky about Karl's future as coach.
"I don't really have any comment on that,'' Kroenke told Lopez. "George had a lot of adversity and George coached them to 50 wins. I respect George and the whole coaching staff.''
By not assuring Karl will be back next season, Kroenke has left some doubt, even if it's a very small percentage. It doesn't matter what "sources'' might say, Karl will be 100 percent assured of being the Nuggets coach next season only if Kroenke says so, Karl says that Kroenke has told him that or next fall arrives and he still has an office.
Once again, I expect Karl, who has two years and $6 million left on his deal, to be back next season. He expects that. And there have been no indications from management to the contrary.
But it's important to know Kroenke is in charge of this situation. So Karl is the Nuggets coach... unless Kroenke says otherwise.

THE FUTURE OF NAJERA

I had a chance to talk Wednesday to Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera, who becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1. I'm not getting the feeling Najera will be back next season in Denver.
"I don't know if they have me in their plans,'' a hardly optimistic Najera said of Nuggets' management.
Najera has interest in returning, and, sure, Karl would love to have one of his favorite players back. But Karl doesn't control the power of the purse, and Denver's salary situation is a mess.
The Nuggets had an $83 million payroll this season, $15 million over the luxury tax threshold. Najera is coming off a season in which he made $4.95 million.
There's no way the Nuggets would give Najera that kind of money next season. Considering the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax, that would be the equivalent of paying nearly $10 million for him.
Najera isn't expecting that kind of money, but, if he were to return to Denver, it likely would have to be for a drastic pay cut. Not that Najera is a candidate to ever cause any problems, but it's rare any player returns to the same team after taking a drastic pay cut.
Want an early candidate for Najera's services? Try Dallas, where Najera played from 2000-04. The Mavericks love him, and had tried to trade for him during his Nuggets' tenure.

CLASS ACT IVERSON

While the worst of the Nuggets may have been on display last Saturday, when they suffered an ugly Game 3 loss to the Lakers and Carmelo Anthony said the team "quit,'' some of the best was on display after Monday's Game 4, the season finale.
Nuggets guard Allen Iverson emerged from the locker room with several trash bags filled with shoes he had worn during the season. His personal manager, Gary Moore, said there were 20 pairs.
Iverson went to the Pepsi Center loading dock, where 50 or so fans were waiting on Denver players to sign autographs. Iverson took shoes out of the bags one by one, signing each. Each time he signed one, he passed the shoe onto a fan.
He didn't do it because the media was there. I just happened to walk by and see the event unfold.
It was a class gesture, one even more impressive considering it came immediately after the Nuggets had suffered a devastating sweep at the hands of the Lakers.

Posted by Chris Tomasson at 11:42 PM | Comments (2)