Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:

NBA Insider

Two controversial trades and another that was eventually voided were the talk of commissioner Adam Silver’s annual press conference during All-Star weekend.

The first question posed to Silver dealt with the deal that ripped out the hoops heart of Dallas fans. The Mavericks shipped face-of-the-franchise Luka Doncic alongside Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick.

Mavericks’ general manager Nico Harrison played the villain in Dallas. Silver’s predecessor, the late David Stern, once vetoed a trade that would’ve sent Chris Paul from New Orleans to the Lakers. The New Orleans franchise was under league control at the time, while the Mavericks are being run by Miriam Adelson and the Dumont family, making it a different situation.

“In terms of anger with the fan base, I’m empathetic. I understand it. Dallas was in the Finals last year. I’ve already said this before: I like Luka very much. I actually met him before he came into this league when he was at Real Madrid, when we were over there playing a preseason game. It seems genuinely, truly authentic that he was stunned and disappointed. You could see it in his body language,” Silver said.

“Having said all that, I also am sympathetic to the Mavericks’ organization. I’ve known Nico Harrison for a long time from his prior tenure at Nike, and I’ve gotten to be close to Patrick Dumont, our new governor in Dallas.

“I can say one thing for sure: Whether or not history will ultimately judge this as a smart trade, they did what they thought was in the best interest of their organization. I have absolutely no knowledge or belief there were any ulterior motives. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Dumont and Adelson families bought that team to keep it in Dallas. I have no doubt whatsoever that they’re committed to the long-term success of that franchise.”

Silver was also asked about the Jimmy Butler saga. After multiple suspensions and significant tension within the Heat organization, Miami moved Butler to Golden State as part of a five-team deal. Silver was asked if the league’s new collective bargaining agreement might lead to more difficult relationships between players and their teams.

“I’m not concerned that that will be the result of the new CBA. I actually think that what the CBA was designed to do, honestly, is to force teams to make difficult decisions. I think teams are still finding their way a bit through this new second apron and what it means. But for us, it’s no secret that part of the design of that CBA and pushing down high-end spending was to create more parity in the league and to do a better job distributing our best players around the 30 teams. I think you’re seeing that to a certain extent already,” Silver said.

“New CBAs are always difficult to predict. I think it was only a few months ago when the conventional wisdom around the league seemed to be that we sort of spoiled the excitement around the trade deadline; that the day and age of these great trades at the deadline weren’t going to happen anymore. I think we just saw more players moved before the trade deadline than anytime in the history of the league.”

Toward the end of his press conference, Silver was asked about one trade that almost happened but didn’t. Charlotte was set to send center Mark Williams to the Lakers for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and a couple of picks. The trade fell through when the Lakers found some issues with Williams’ physical. The commissioner said Charlotte had not formally filed a grievance, but he did note other issues with the process.

“In this day and age of sports science, is there a different standard of sort we should be applying in terms of players passing physicals in trades?” Silver wondered. “It’s something we should look at as a league. I will say this issue does not come up that often. I can’t even remember — and certainly I don’t think in my tenure a trade has ever — there’s never been a challenge because a player has failed a physical, but almost by definition, you get into a certain level of subjectivity in where that standard is. … Let’s see what Charlotte decides to do here.”

What I’m thinking

There’s no better time for the Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony to repair their strained relationship and move forward.

Not only is Anthony headed to the Hall of Fame in the fall, but he has also been hired as a studio analyst for NBC when the network starts carrying NBA games next season.

The Nuggets congratulated Anthony for being a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame finalist over the weekend. It would be even better if the franchise and the third overall pick from the 2003 draft could present a unified front at a game in Denver before then.

The jersey-retirement conversation is complicated since Nikola Jokic is currently wearing the No. 15, but a banner could be raised to the rafters before Jokic calls it a career. Once Jokic retires, the Nuggets could seamlessly retire the shared number with Anthony and Jokic’s banners hanging next to the other’s.

What’s not up for debate is that Denver’s franchise would look significantly different without Anthony’s contributions. That’s enough to be celebrated one way or another, and there’s no better time than now for both parties to acknowledge as much.

What they’re saying

The NBA announced the creation of the Dikembe Mutombo Humanitarian Award.

“We were all calling him ‘Ambassador Mutombo’ before he had the official moniker because it wasn’t just in Africa, as you know because you travel so much with us, all around the world he was an ambassador of the game, and he devoted so much of his life to humanitarian efforts. He famously built a hospital in the Congo and that was very public. But I’m looking at Kathy Behrens, who worked directly with him. There was so much he did that was completely out of the bright lights that nobody had any idea,” Silver said.

“He was a constant fundraiser. … his spirit was infectious. I think part of it just being a 7-footer. We all knew when we traveled with him, whether it was to Mumbai, a place where people might not know much about basketball or Dikembe Mutombo, I think because of his size, because of his laugh, just because of his presence, they instantly would know he was somebody important and he’d create those connections, something we all talk about so much these days.”

What I’m following

—Aaron Gordon released a new song, “Too close,” on Valentine’s Day. Gordon has released a few rap singles in the past, but his latest is more of an R&B track. It’s available on the major music streaming services. It turns out AG can sing, too.

—Two Western Conference All-Stars were late scratches for Sunday’s mini tournament. Anthony Edwards missed the game but hoped he would be ready for Minnesota’s next game Friday. LeBron James announced he wouldn’t Sunday with lingering foot and ankle injuries. James doesn’t have as long to recover since the Lakers play Wednesday.

—The news for Dallas continues to get worse. Last week, it was reported Mavericks center Daniel Gafford will miss six weeks with a grade-three sprain of his medial collateral ligament. Days later, Dallas assistant Darrell Armstrong was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Armstrong reportedly struck a woman with a gun and threatened to shoot her.

What I’m reading

Joel Lorenzi did a deep dive on Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for The Oklahoman. It’s a great read for Nuggets fans who want to better understand Nikola Jokic’s competition for Most Valuable Player.