With eight days to go until the NBA trading deadline, George Karl has mixed feelings about whether the Nuggets should make a deal.
"I'm 50-50," the Nuggets coach said Tuesday, just before his team blew out the Mavericks to improve to 35-17, the second-best record in the West.
"Fifty percent says I don't think anything's going to happen and that's not bad. And there's 50 percent of me every once in a while, after a loss, that goes, 'I wish I had another half a body.'
"I'm sure our phones will be a part of the participation but I'm not sure anything will get done."
The way they've been playing lately, it is tempting to think the Nuggets don't need to make a move. Tuesday was the first time in four tries that they won without Kenyon Martin, their toughest big man.
"I think it's like losing your middle linebacker in football," Karl said. "He's key in your blitzes, he's key in your coverages, he's a guy at the end who's going to take the one-on-one responsibility of being a stopper. And his efficiency offensively has been very impressive this year."
Still, with Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups back in the lineup, the Nuggets romped, improving to 1-3 without Martin. Even seldom-used reserve big men Malik Allen and Johan Petro contributed.
So no worries, right?
Well, let's not get carried away.
The Nuggets' nightmare scenario is that they stand pat at the Feb. 18 trade deadline and then Martin, Nene or Chris Andersen — the three big men who play regularly — goes down with an injury.
Even with all three of them healthy, the Nuggets arguably need a fourth competent big man to get past the Lakers, who knocked them out of the playoffs a year ago and have the NBA's most imposing front line. That's why various reports continue to suggest the Nuggets are pursuing disgruntled Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas and veteran Clippers big man Marcus Camby.
But making either of those deals happen is easier said than done. If the Nuggets are not willing to trade mercurial scorer J.R. Smith, and it doesn't look like they are, they don't have much value to offer.
The Clippers can get salary cap relief just by letting Camby's contract expire, which means the Nuggets would have to offer something of value to make a trade attractive. Likewise, Chicago will want something in exchange for Thomas, the fourth overall pick of the 2006 draft, even if his relationship with Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro is a little like Smith's relationship with Karl.
It is tempting, particularly off of Tuesday's domination of the Mavericks, to think the Nuggets' need for more size has been exaggerated. Nene, Andersen, Allen and Petro all made it look as if they are plenty deep up front, even with their best big man in street clothes on the bench.
But there were at least two good reasons not to put too much weight on Tuesday's performances. For one thing, the Mavericks played the entire game in slow motion, like most teams that arrive in Denver sometime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. following a game on the West Coast the night before. Nuggets opponents in that situation are now 0-5 on the season.
"It's definitely tough," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's something I'm sure the league has looked at as an aspect of Western Conference play to try to eliminate. But from studying scheduling for a lot of years, I know it's extremely difficult to get it perfect."
For another thing, Dallas was missing starting center Erick Dampier, out with a bad knee. In his place, Carlisle started 6-8 forward Eduardo Najera in the middle, then brought in forward Drew Gooden behind him. No wonder Nene looked like Hakeem Olajuwon.
Afterward, Karl said the Nuggets' roster might be adequate if they don't suffer any injuries down the stretch. If they do, it is likely to be a different story.
"If something comes available, I think we should evaluate it," he said.
In the 34 years since they joined the NBA, the Nuggets have never had a better opportunity to compete for a championship. The front office has eight more days in which to try to improve the odds.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger
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