Next time, nothing less than a championship will do.

"We should have championship aspirations," Nuggets front- office executive Rex Chapman said Saturday. "One thing you know about (owner) Stan Kroenke is he wants to win, and he's not afraid to go after it."

Turning 25 years old and playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals on the last Friday in May, a grinning Anthony said: "I could get used to this playing on my birthday."

After sleeping on the 119-92 loss that eliminated the Nuggets from the playoffs, guard Anthony Carter woke up and put Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and the Basketball world on notice by declaring: "We knew we had the best team of any team in the final four, but we just didn't get it done."

Dream big, Denver.

After waiting 42 seasons to be the biggest shots in pro Basketball, could next year finally be the one when the Nuggets win it all?

But be forewarned, all you championship dreamers.

"The next step for this Basketball team is harder. The step up from here to a championship is more difficult," said Billups, who brought with him a championship ring when the point guard was traded back to his hometown team in November.

How did his Detroit Pistons capture the 2004 NBA title from a star-studded Lakers roster that included Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone, Gary Payton and Bryant? "They had four Hall of Famers on that team," Billups said. "Our Detroit team definitely wasn't as talented as those Lakers. Nobody would argue that."

Moral of the story: The best talent doesn't always win a championship. The best team does. There's a big difference.

"We got to the Western Conference finals this season because we were more talented than New Orleans and Dallas," Billups said. "But, at some point, the team you're playing against at this level is going to be just as talented, or more talented, than you are. Then it becomes a mental game. And that's harder than anything."

No easy answers

The questions that remain about Denver's credentials as a legitimate contender have no easy answers.

Is Melo ready to be the man who can be mentioned on the same first-name basis with Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade as a superstar who can carry a team on his back?

The Nuggets' leading scorer has worked hard on his game and his image.

"I think we're seeing the evolution of Carmelo Anthony as a man, which makes him a better Basketball player," Chapman said.

There's more work to be done.

As the Nuggets split two games in L.A. to open the conference finals, he was very Melo, averaging 36.5 points on sharp 53 percent shooting. Looking more beat up with every rough-and-tumble game in the series, Anthony was extremely mediocre in the final four games of the series, averaging 23 points while shooting a miserable 32 percent, and the Lakers knocked out Denver.

Is George Karl the right coach to take the Nuggets to the top?

He has won more than 900 NBA games in his coaching career. Very good. He learned to trust the talent of J.R. Smith and forgive the young guard's bonehead moves. Very smart.

In 21 chances to win a league championship, however, Karl has never done it. No wonder Nuggets execs go mute when you ask if a coach who enters the final season of his deal has earned a contract extension.

Personnel decisions

Are the Nuggets one new star away from being unbeatable?

Maybe, if they used a $10 million salary-cap exception obtained in the trade of Marcus Camby to acquire another big man.

Here's the problem: Since buying the team in 2000, the Nuggets have never produced a consistent profit for Kroenke. So it will be a challenge for Denver merely to keep the services of role players such as Linas Kleiza, Dahntay Jones, Carter and Andersen, who all will seek pay raises.

Now that they have instilled the dream in Denver, how do the Nuggets keep their championship aspirations from turning to gold dust in the wind?

"When you get to this point, you can't take steps backwards, because there is always somebody right on your heels," Billups said.

In 2006, Phoenix lost in the Western Conference finals. In 2007, Utah got beat one round short of a championship shot. In 2008, San Antonio was the second-best squad this side of the Mississippi River.

All of those teams were where the Nuggets are now. None of those teams built on its playoff success the next year.

"Nothing helps a team more than going through the playoffs. It either unifies or splits them up if they don't perform well," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "This team, the Nuggets , played exceptionally well through the playoffs. They thrashed a lot of opponents ? and their physicality, athleticism and scoring ability are remarkable."

The window of opportunity for this cast of Denver players figures to be two more seasons, what with veteran starters Billups and power forward Kenyon Martin past their 30th birthdays and on the back end of expensive contracts.

So, same as everybody in Denver, the Birdman wants to know: How high can these Nuggets go?

"Imagine," Andersen said, "what we're going to be next year."

It's weird. Every NBA season that closes with anything less than a championship ends the same way: in a black trash bag.

Millionaire athletes empty contents of individual lockers, carry all their junk and memories to the curb, then dump stuffed trash bags into Mercedes, muscle cars and SUVs with shiny rims.

Just once, the Nuggets would like the end of the road to be a victory parade.

Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053

or mkiszla@denverpost.com