Renaldo Balkman says he has the ?heart of a lion.?? But he usually doesn?t roar like one.
When talking about how New York gave him away last summer for next to nothing, the mild-mannered, long-haired Nuggets forward mostly has been tight-lipped. But he did offer at least one growl as he prepares Tuesday to go against his old team for the second time.
?They already do,?? said Balkman when asked if he believes the Knicks regret trading him last summer.
The Knicks in July dealt Balkman to the Nuggets for pair of players with nonguaranteed contracts, Taurean Green and Bobby Jones and a 2010 second-round pick. The Knicks, who also threw about $500,000 Denver?s way, then waived Green and Jones.
Balkman, taken No. 20 by the Knicks in the first round of the 2006 draft and with a contract paying him $1.37 million this season, didn?t factor in their future. And with the Knicks deep into the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax, it was a cost-cutting move as they work toward having loads of salary-cap money in 2010.
Lately, the move has looked pretty good for the Nuggets. During his past 11 games, Balkman has averaged 8.8 points and 7.5 rebounds, raising his seasonal marks to 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds over 14.9 minutes.
Until recently, Nuggets coach George Karl hadn?t used Balkman with any regularity. But Karl didn?t hesitate Dec. 28 unleashing Balkman when he first went against his old team.
Entering that game, Balkman had not played in five of Denver?s previous seven games and had logged just 11 minutes in the two in which his name was called. But Karl dusted off Balkman at Madison Square Garden, and he responded with nine points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes in a 117-110 win.
Don?t think for a picosecond Karl won?t give Balkman a long look Tuesday at the Pepsi Center.
?I think we like to have success against a team that told us they didn?t want us,?? Karl said of Balkman?s thinking. ?I think he will have some energy. (The Knicks) play the night before (at Utah).??
Balkman tries to remain modest but can?t deny Dec. 28 was among his seasonal highlights.
?Everybody knew it was a good day for me, and we came out with a win,?? Balkman said.
Balkman, who averaged 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in his two New York seasons, insists he harbors no bitterness against the Knicks for letting him go. He said he initially got the word from his agent, Andre Buck, and later talked with Knicks president Donnie Walsh.
?He was just telling me I?m a great athlete and he was sorry for letting me go, but he feels at this point (in Balkman?s career) I?m in a better place than I was in New York,?? Balkman describing the kind way in which Walsh informed him the Knicks would be rebuilding without him.
Count at least one New York player at the time as being sorry to see Balkman go. Guard Jamal Crawford was Balkman?s teammate during his two seasons with the Knicks and began this season with New York before being dealt in November to Golden State.
?He?s a great energy guy,?? Crawford said. ?I missed him when we traded him. He?s constant energy. He can give you a big block, a big dunk, a big steal and a big rebound. He kept us in a lot of games with his energy in New York.??
The Nuggets, trying to rebuild their frontline last summer after center Marcus Camby was dispatched in a salary dump and forward Eduardo Najera wasn?t re-signed as a free agent, were only happy to comply when Walsh, a longtime buddy of Denver executive Mark Warkentien, offered Balkman for next to nothing.
While it can?t be compared to the J.R. Smith heist of 2006, it was the second move in three years by the Nuggets in which a savvy signing by Warkentien came into play.
In March 2006, the Nuggets had interest in retaining third-string point guard Howard Eisley for the remainder of the season. With Eisley, who would never play another NBA game after that season, having little leverage, he was signed for the rest of the season and given a nonguaranteed deal for 2006-07.
The Nuggets in July 2006 then shipped Eisley and two second-round picks to Chicago for Smith. The Bulls, wanting to clear money to sign Adrian Griffin and stay under the luxury-tax line, then waived Eisley.
Griffin averaged 2.5 points for the Bulls in 2006-07 and was gone by the midpoint of the next season. Wonder if they regret that move.
A similar tactic was used by Warkentien late last season when the Nuggets gave Jones a take-it-or-leave offer of signing for the rest of the season with a nonguaranteed deal for 2008-09. Jones, who played last season for an NBA record-tying four teams, including two Denver stints, agreed to pack his suitcase one more time.
Then Jones was used along with Green, who was acquired in a February 2008 trade with Portland for Von Wafer and had a nonguaranteed deal for 2008-09, to facilitate the deal for Balkman.
Balkman showed enough in the preseason for the Nuggets to pick up his $2.11 million contract option for next season. That was an option the Knicks likely had little interest in picking up had Balkman not been moved.
?They did what they had to do,?? Balkman said of the Knicks dealing him. ?It?s all politics in this game. But I?m here for a reason.??
The Nuggets hope that reason includes creating havoc against his old team for a second time this season
