Chauncey Billups Finds Out Nuggets Primed to Rebuild, Er, Reinvent

Filed under: Nuggets, NBA Rumors

DENVER -- Rebuilding. Reinventing. Call it what you want.

But guard Chauncey Billups didn't know his Denver Nuggets were a good bet to be doing that until he found himself linked recently to a since-dead possible trade in which he would have gone to New Jersey along with teammate Carmelo Anthony.

"Yeah, pretty much,'' Billups said Thursday when asked if that was the first indication he got that the Nuggets look to be entering a rebuilding mode.

The Nuggets appear primed to enter a such a mode if they deal Anthony before the Feb. 24 trade deadline, which is expected. It's only semantics that Nuggets coach George Karl said he prefers to call it "reinventing.''

If the Nuggets trade Anthony, and Billups remains on the team the rest of the season, don't be surprised if Billups finds his contract for $14.2 million for 2011-12 bought out after the season for $3.7 million. Denver is leaning that way.

Also, forward Kenyon Martin and guard J.R. Smith will be free agents this summer and center Nene can become a free agent by opting out of his contract. Can you say rebuilding?

Oops. Make that reinventing.

 

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Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/01/21/chauncey-billups-knows-nuggets-primed-to-rebuild-er-reinvent/

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