January 8, 2009 1:10 AM

Nuggets likely not done dealing

By Chris Tomasson
Rocky Mountain News

It was no surprise when coach George Karl said Wednesday there's a decent chance the Nuggets aren't done dealing.

It's highly doubtful they are. The acquisition of reserve center Johan Petro did not exactly send shivers up the spine of Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

Wednesday's trade, in which the Nuggets sent sparingly used guard Chucky Atkins, a protected 2009 first-round pick to Oklahoma City and about $700,000 for Petro and a 2009 second-round pick, accomplished two things. The Nuggets assured themselves of finishing the season under the luxury-tax threshold of $71.15 million, and they got an extra big man for insurance.

Really, though, Petro, making $1.94 million this season before becoming a restricted free agent this summer, is a piece just about every NBA team already has. He's a big guy who sits at the end of the bench until he's called in to put a few fouls on Shaq.

What the Nuggets need now is an impact player who could help them with playoff positioning and to advance in the postseason for the first time since 1994. They will spend the days before the Feb. 19 trade deadline looking for that player.

"I think the window of opportunity to maybe try to make a trade that will impact our team has gotten better because of being under the tax line,'' said Karl, whose team also made a trade on Monday in sending Cheikh Samb to the Clippers in a move that helped their tax situation. "I think our organization, led by (owner Stan Kroenke) has done a great job of having a plan. The plan has not always made the coaches happy. But the plan has been committed. And we have now reached the goal.

"And so now what's the next plan? Hopefully, the next plan is maybe come trade deadline there will be an opportunity to make this team a better team and we can get it done under the reins of staying under the tax.''

That the Nuggets got under the tax line after last summer flirting with a payroll of nearly $90 million is amazing. But they had to give up some of their bargaining chips to do it

One chip was Atkins, who had some attractiveness because just $760,000 of his $3.48 million contract next season is guaranteed. The other was Denver's first-round draft pick.

The Nuggets still have some sought-after chips they can play. But they only would use them if it brought back a very good player.

One is a future Charlotte Bobcats first-round pick, which is considered a sacred cow in the Nuggets' organization. Because the pick conceivably could be No. 1 in the draft in 2014, the Nuggets would have little interest in trading it unless it brought back a player they couldn't resist.

The other key chip the Nuggets could play is forward Linas Kleiza. He's on the trading block because he becomes a restricted free agent next summer, and he could bolt to Europe and leave Denver with nothing. He also could seek a contract that is too rich for the Nuggets, who don't want to pay the luxury tax next season either.

It will be interesting to see if talks about Kleiza possibly going to New York for David Lee resurface. Lee definitely could help the Nuggets, although one wonders what the Knicks might want to do with Kleiza since they're not looking to sign players to deals of any substance past the key free-agency summer of 2010.

And, just because the Nuggets traded for one Oklahoma City big man, it doesn't mean they can't return to the same store. Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith and Nick Collison likely could still be had from the big-men rich Thunder.

In the meantime, getting the Thunder's second-round pick isn't all that bad. With Oklahoma City an NBA-worst 5-31, it could be the first pick of the second round.

The Nuggets could get a first-round talent and not have to pay him first-round money, which would be contract guaranteed for up to two years. And, besides, the Nuggets are currently in line for their first-round pick to be No. 25, which isn't all that different from No. 31. And the No. 25 pick would require a guaranteed contract for the league scale amount.

The first-round pick the Nuggets sent Oklahoma City is protected, but only if Denver fails to make the playoffs. Then the Thunder would get the pick in a future year.

As for the Thunder, it now has three first-round picks in the draft. And it's a team that hardly is done dealing.

Perhaps the next player to go is Earl Watson, who told the Rocky Mountain News recently he expects to be dealt. Thunder brass has told Atkins he's wanted to help groom rookie guard Russell Westbrook, a further indication Watson's days in Oklahoma City are numbered.

Atkins has known for a while he likely would be traded. He said he will try to make the best of going from the Northwest Division leader to the NBA's worst team.

"The way I look at it is that I get paid to play basketball,'' said Atkins, who was averaging 1.9 points this season and never got to show much in his 1 ½ Denver seasons due to injuries. "I got traded from Detroit (during the 2003-04 season) and they won the championship. I'm going to do the best that I can.''

Atkins said he spoke to Karl after the deal, and Karl said he had been planning to give Atkins decent minutes over the next 20 games.

"I'm going to look at this as a positive situation and do all I can do for Oklahoma City,'' Atkins said.

Atkins said he didn't know if the Thunder plans to keep him for next season or would let him go and pay off the $760,000. Of course, Atkins, due to that contract, will continue to be trade bait.

The Thunder definitely isn't done dealing. And neither are the Nuggets.

Posted by Chris Tomasson at 1:10 AM | Comments (3)