Summer News

The Nuggets didn't make a big splash in the draft. They haven't done much in terms of picking up free agents, either. Signing Carmelo to a max deal was hardly a shocker. Even holding on to Nene isn't that big of a deal, though the price tag to hold onto him was a little shocking. No, the Nuggets are playing it safe these days. They're working for stability in the aftermath of the Kiki debacle. They haven't even been able to unload Kenyon to the Knicks yet. (But I have hopes that a deal is on the horizon.)

What is new and interesting is all the A.I. talk. It would be a pretty amazing deal if the Nuggets managed to trade for Allen Iverson. Notice that I didn't say it would be a good deal, or a bad one for the matter. It would simply be amazing. A.I. is a hell of a player whose will to win would probably be enough to get the Nuggets 50 wins for the next 5 years. But for anything more than that, A.I. is not the answer.

In the last 15 years, there has only been one case in which a superstar from one team hooked up with a superstar from another and made it successful. If you're wondering, I'm talking about Clyde Drexler joining the Rockets for the 94-95 season. He teamed with Hakeem Olajuwon and won the title. And that, my friends, is the only time such a thing has worked. There have been countless auperstar marriage disasters since then: Barkley/Pippen/Olajuwon, Shaq/Payton/Malone, Pierce/Walker, Hill/McGrady (though the injuries give this example an asterisk), Sprewell/Garnett, Marbury/anyone. Superstar tandoms simply don't work. Shaq made it work with Kobe because Kobe grew into stardom under Shaq. Shaq made it work with Wade the exact same way. Shaq and Malone were incompatable just like an A.I./Melo teamup won't equal a championship. I'm not saying the duo won't be exciting. I'm not saying they won't win. All I'm saying is that they won't win a championship. And that, after all, is the whole point.