Watson not ready to demand trade but is eager for more time
Nuggets point guard finally gets extensive action after idling

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News
November 17, 2005

OKLAHOMA CITY - Earl Watson knows what happens Dec. 15.

"I am eligible to be traded," he said.

What is this? Another story of an athlete demanding a trade?

Hardly.

Entering Wednesday, the point guard hadn't played in seven of eight games for the Denver Nuggets after signing a five-year, $29 million contract as a free agent.

There has been speculation Watson could be a candidate to be dealt Dec. 15, the first day players who signed as free agents during the off- season can be moved.

But Watson, despite being stuck behind point guards Andre Miller and Earl Boykins, won't be campaigning for a trade.

"I came (to Denver) because I want to play here," Watson said before a 91-81 victory against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. "I'm not one of those players that puts quotes in the papers, 'I want to be traded.'

"That's easy. I say that right now. 'That's easy.' But I never take the easy way. If I did, I would have given up a long time ago. They said in Kansas City (Kan., where he grew up), I wouldn't play Division I basketball, let alone sign a letter of intent at UCLA."

After the game, Watson certainly had no desire to be moved. He got his first extended playing time this season, finishing with 10 points and three steals in slightly less than 21 minutes.

"You should tip your hat to Earl Watson," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "He's very much a pro. He stayed involved. He stayed focused. He had a of game. . . . Maybe (the Nuggets now will) play more guys who know how to pass and know how to play. Right now, we need more playmakers on the court, and maybe that's the way we should play."

Watson, though, is taking nothing for granted.

"No matter what, whether I'm playing a lot or not, I'm going to stay consistent in my emotions," he said. "Not too high and low. . . . You could celebrate too much and, before you know it, everything can change."

Watson said he was "surprised" about his inactivity to start the season and that it has been "tough." But teammates have lauded him for not moaning about a lack of minutes.

"He's been real professional about his playing time," forward Carmelo Anthony said. "I think that anybody in that situation would be complaining about his playing time."

Watson has seen plenty of others do that.

"I hear about guys playing 20 to 30 minutes talking about wanting to get traded," he said before the game. "I'm trying to get 10."

On Wednesday, Watson got double that.

MARTIN SITS AGAIN: For the second time in three games, Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin did not play because of a sore left knee. Now, he's contemplating whether to miss some games to rest.

"There are thoughts," he said. "I haven't made up my mind yet. But there are thoughts."

Martin, who underwent surgery in May on the left knee, has had recurring soreness. In between missing games Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Wednesday, he played only 8 minutes Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks, saying the knee "felt good until the game started."

"We've talked about there could be a situation where he might miss a couple of games," Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said.

Martin doesn't know if he'll play Friday against the New York Knicks and Karl said he has "no definitive answer" when he might return.

In the meantime, Martin is trying to fight through the pain.

"I'm impatient," he said. "That's the biggest thing is me learning to be patient. I don't have patience. It's a hard thing to learn."

ETC.: While the Nuggets are 4-5, Karl is not concerned. "I think my team is going to have eight or nine wins at the end of November," said Karl, with 15 games scheduled this month. "I think that's where we probably should be." . . . With Martin out, Karl started the 7-foot Francisco Elson, even though the Hornets don't have a big lineup. That's fine with 6-8 Eduardo Najera, who played at the University of Oklahoma. "I like (being a reserve)," said Najera, who scored six points. "I don't care if I start." . . . Karl did not play guard Voshon Lenard . . . Martin, Greg Buckner and Marcus Camby have Thanksgiving events planned. Martin will donate and deliver meals Saturday at Mount Carmel Community Baptist Church. Buckner will cater and serve meals on Thanksgiving at the Denver Children's Home. Camby will deliver meals Saturday at the Cope and Wilfley branches of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. He also will treat 15 children from the Tennyson Center for Children to dinner Thanksgiving at the J.W. Marriott in Cherry Creek.

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