MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: The Nov. 3 acquisition of guard Chauncey Billups from Detroit changed the Nuggets overnight. Billups gave the Nuggets the point guard they had needed since Andre Miller was traded in December 2006. Billups also gave the Nuggets great leadership, including another voice in the locker room when players had gotten tired of listening to coach George Karl
MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: Forward Linas Kleiza looked ready to build even more upon last season, when he averaged 11.1 points and shot 47.2 percent. But Kleiza slumped to a 9.9 average and 44.7 percent shooting. It took awhile for Kleiza to recover from what happened to him at the start of the season -- the Nuggets pulled off the table a four-year, $25 million contract extension. Kleiza at least did rebound to have some good moments in the West final against the Lakers. FREE AGENT FOCUS: The Nuggets go into the offseason with six free agents. Center Chris Andersen and guards Dahntay Jones, Anthony Carter and Jason Hart are unrestricted, and forward Linas Kleiza and center Johan Petro are restricted. The two important ones are Andersen and Kleiza, who both say they want to return. Andersen is likely to get a hefty raise from his $998,398 minimum deal. "Re-sign me," Andersen said when asked what the team's top offseason priority should be. Kleiza's situation is up in the air since he might want more than the Nuggets are willing to pay. Jones, Carter and Petro could return on minimum deals, although the Nuggets likely will have no interest in offering Hart any guaranteed money.
PLAYER NOTES:
--C Nene is injury prone, but at least his recent injury came in Denver's final game of the season. Nene suffered a broken forearm midway through the fourth quarter of the May 29 Game 6 of the West final against the Lakers and will wear a splint until late June. "A screen on Shannon Brown," Nene said of how he got hurt. "And I knew it broke but I tried to stay in the game." For the season, Nene played in 77 games after appearing in just 81 in the three previous seasons combined.
--F Carmelo Anthony had a banner postseason, averaging 27.2 points. One of the few negatives was that his rebounding average fell to 5.8 in the playoffs after he averaged 6.8 during the regular season. And Anthony played an average of nearly four more minutes per game in the postseason. Nuggets coach George Karl has been on Anthony to rebound more ever since he arrived in Denver in January 2005. Just because Anthony was a postseason scoring star, don't expect Karl to relax in that department.
--G J.R. Smith's charge next season is to continue to work toward becoming more consistent. Smith made great strides during the season while averaging 15.2 points. But Smith's up-and-down ways really returned in the West final against the Lakers, when he had 24 points in two games and 10 or less in the other four. The low point of the series was Smith shooting just 4-of-13 from the foul line. But Smith will continue to work on his focus during the offseason and will be counted on for even bigger things next season.
--C Johan Petro might play internationally for his native France this summer. Petro, who will be a restricted free agent, is determined to continue to hone his skills and show he can be a rotation player in the future. The 7-foot, 247-pound Petro was an insurance policy acquired in January by the Nuggets, but coach George Karl never had enough confidence in Petro to use him in key situations. Petro averaged just 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 27 regular-season games with Denver.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--C Steven Hunter (Nov. 14 right knee surgery) didn't play after the first preseason game but was cleared to play late in the regular season. But he never got into a regular-season or playoff game and was active for only one -- Game 2 of the West final against the Lakers.
--C Nene (left forearm fracture) was hurt in the fourth quarter of the final game of the Western Conference final. Nene will wear a splint until late June. He's expected to be at full strength for training camp in the fall.
