Wednesday's Nuggets training camp report

Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 4, 2007 at midnight

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Veteran presence

Marcus Camby and Chucky Atkins, both 33, look like youngsters in the Nuggets’ training camp.

The Nuggets on Wednesday signed free-agent swingman Stacey Augmon, 39, to a nonguaranteed contract. Augmon was out of the NBA last season after playing for the Orlando Magic in 2005-06.

He has a long-term relationship with Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien, who was on Nevada-Las Vegas’ staff when Augmon played there from 1986 to 1991.

Augmon, a defensive specialist, has an NBA average of eight points in 15 seasons with the Hawks, Pistons, Trail Blazers, Hornets and Magic.

He worked out with the Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Let trash talk begin

Ten months before Beijing, the trash talk has started.

Nuggets forwards Carmelo Anthony and Linas Kleiza might run into each other at the Olympics in August.

"He told me he was going to be playing (power forward) next year and he was going to be guarding me," Anthony said. "I told him it might be a nightmare."

Kleiza’s response?

"It will be (Anthony’s) nightmare."

One thing, though, is for sure. When Anthony’s Team USA earned an Olympic berth, he didn’t get the treatment Kleiza did when his native Lithuania finished third in last month’s European Championships to lock up a trip to Beijing.

"When we landed after flying home to Lithuania, there were a thousand people at the airport," Kleiza said. "Then they had a concert for us, and there were 20,000 people there."

The next day, Kleiza and his teammates met Lithuania’s president and prime minister. Imagine the treatment Kleiza would get if Team USA and Anthony end up having a nightmare at the expense of Lithuania.

Fall business

The Nuggets have until Oct. 31 to sign guard J.R. Smith to a contract extension that would begin next season. If it doesn’t happen, Smith becomes a restricted free agent in the offseason.

"If we can work something out, that’s fine," Smith said. "But if we can’t, if we win games, all that other stuff will take care of itself (next summer)."

Indications are the Nuggets and Smith’s agent, Arn Tellem, are not close in negotiations.

In a much easier item of business, the Nuggets are expected to pick up the 2008-09 contract option on Kleiza for $1.82 million by Oct. 31.

Keeping up with the Joneses

Nuggets forward Bobby Jones, acquired last month from Philadelphia, shares a name with the defensive specialist who played for Denver from 1974 to 1978 and with the 76ers from 1978 to 1986.

"Did he play for any other teams?" asked the younger Jones, finding it funny his first two teams are the only NBA teams for which the older Jones played.

Etc.

Karl is eyeing Chucky Atkins and Anthony Carter as potential starting point guards. Atkins, who said he also drew interest in the summer from Detroit, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio and Utah, directed the first team in practice Tuesday; Carter did so Wednesday.

Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera sat out Wednesday’s morning practice with a lower-back strain. He participated in the evening workout.

Karl anticipates forward Kenyon Martin, who has yet to play five-on-five since undergoing knee surgery in November, will do so by the end of the week.

He said it

"They all look thin. None of them look fat. It doesn’t mean they’re all in shape, though."

Karl, on seeing players at the start of training camp.

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