State of the Cap: Denver Nuggets

The Good: Carmelo Anthony took a major step forward this season. The young star's scoring average climbed to 26.5 ppg and his field goal shooting increased to a very nice 48%. Anthony established himself as one of the best scorers in the league and a threat to hit big shots late in games. Melo has one more season on his rookie contract for $4.7 million, and then he will be able to cash in with a max deal. Denver will surely throw one his way.Despite the fact that Earl Boykins played in just 60 games, he was still a good value for the money. He averaged 12.6 points and 3.8 assists coming off the bench. Those are nice stats for a player owed around $2.9 million each of the next two seasons.
The Bad: Injuries took a major toll on the Denver Nuggets this season. Once again, Marcus Camby failed to play a full season, appearing in just 56 games. As always, his stats were incredible when he was in the line-up (11.9 rebounds, 3.3 blocks). As always, to earn the four years and $31.5 million left on his deal, he simply must stay healthy.Another player who saw action in 56 games was Kenyon Martin. With five years and over $70 million left on his contract, Martin is considered an incredible bust. Even when he played, his averages of 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds were some of the lowest of his career. Normally, Denver would be stuck with his dead weight for many years, but recent rumors of the Knicks being interested in Martin has to have Nugget fans feeling giddy.
The Future: Andre Miller's contract has three years and about $28 million left to go. He has never been much of a scorer, but the 8.2 assists he averaged this season was nice. If Miller could add a few more points each night, his contract would be well worth it.A rift has opened between Kenyon Martin and the Nuggets that may not be repairable. Martin was supposed to form a talented trio with Camby and Melo, but he hasn't come close to fulfilling expectations. Now that the team has soured on him, they will be looking to dump the disgruntled forward as soon as possible. With his fat contract and injury history, that will not be an easy task.If they can get rid of Martin, newly acquired Reggie Evans and a healthy Nene could help fill the void. Both are up for new contracts, but the Nuggets could probably keep both for half of what Kenyon makes. Denver is desperate for a shooting guard with 3 point range that can be a second option on offense to take some of the pressure off of Carmelo Anthony. With no cap room to spare at the moment and a big pay raise for Anthony coming soon, it will be tricky for the Nuggets to get anyone of value. This will be a very important summer for this franchise. Can they make their team better and rise higher in the playoffs or will they sink back into the lottery?
Bonus Points… for suspending Kenyon Martin in the playoffs. That move took a lot of guts at such a crucial moment in the season, but a disruption to the team needs to be taken care of immediately. Now Denver needs to take the next step and ship him out of town. Somehow.