Kenyon Martin feels Carmelo’s Anthony’s pain

NEW YORK - DECEMBER 28: Carmelo Anthony #15 of the Denver Nuggets receives high fives from teammates after win against the New York Knicks on December 28, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Carmelo Anthony

Nathaniel S. Butler

While certain agents and back-room deal loves may be pushing for fast action, nothing fast is going to happen with Carmelo Anthony.

Denver needs to get a general manager first. Then this GM will want to talk to ‘Melo face-to-face, Then the powers that be need decide if they are going to trade him or call his bluff and see if he really is willing to leave maybe $10 million or more on the table to leave Denver. Anthony doesn’t have to act until June 30 next year and he is in no rush.

But teammate Kenyon Martin gets why Anthony would consider leaving, as he told the Denver Post.

“I understand what he’s going through,” Martin said in a phone interview. “If I’m Melo, I’m thinking -- are we getting better? They’ve got to prove to me that we’re getting better.... Everybody else around us got better. But we’re taking steps backwards.”

This could be a tough season for the Nuggets, especially early as they will be without Kenyon Martin and Chris Anderson until well into the campaign. Both are still rehabbing from knee surgeries.

George Karl will be back on the bench this fall, a big plus for the team. And the thought of losing his best player doesn’t thrill him.

Karl hears talk of a possible Melo trade, and hopes it’s not true. He often jokes about what he calls “summer talk” -- without games being played, there is a lot of speculation and hearsay throughout the league -- “and a lot of the summer talk never comes true. That’s what I’m hoping is going to be the case with Melo.”

But he also knows that big changes could be coming. In addition to the Anthony situation, Martin and J.R. Smith are in the last year of their deals, plus the team can cheaply buy Chauncey Billups out of the last year of his deal.

“The one thing I think there’s a danger for everybody is that there are a lot of people on a one-year rope,” Karl said. “And I think that’s somewhat dangerous; there’s a lot of junk that goes with one-year ropes.”

If Anthony stays, the Nuggets will have some financial room to rebuild the team around him. But this season the Nuggets seem to be stuck in the “good but not good enough” spot in the West. And that’s not a lot of fun.