Nuggets News

Present could be Nuggets' future

By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News
April 7, 2004

When it comes to recruiting free agents, the Denver Nuggets have a few things working in their favor.

Money to spend.

Cosmopolitan city with a surprisingly sunny winter climate.

Money to spend.

Five-year-old arena with modern amenities and enthusiastic fans.

Money to spend.

If everything falls into place in the next eight days, Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will have another element to add to his sales pitch: playoff-quality product.

"A lot can come out of being in the playoffs," Denver guard Jon Barry said Tuesday. "Free agent-wise, guys look at the playoffs. More and more, the trend is guys want to go play for winners. If you make the playoffs, you're considered a winner."

The Nuggets have not been considered winners since 1995, and even then they were a .500 team that needed a victory on the season's final day to gain entry into the playoffs.

Kroenke proud of Nuggets' progress

Having his team make the NBA playoffs wouldn't be the same for Stan Kroenke as winning a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams or a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche. But considering the Nuggets' history, it would be almost as satisfying for the owner of all three teams.

"We are on the path that we set out toward four years ago," Kroenke said Tuesday. "It shows me that we're making progress. When we came in we said it wasn't going to be an overnight success, because there was a lot of work to do. But we're making progress."