The Denver Nuggets are getting ready to raid the L.A. Clippers roster.  

Chris Thomasson of the Rocky Mountain News reports that the Nuggets are looking at about $17 million in cap space next summer, and are ready to spend it.

With, Elton Brand, Corey Magette, Andre Miller and Lamar Odom  becoming restricted free agents to join unrestricted agent Michael Olowakandi, the Nuggets are poised to pounce.

Thomasson says Corey Magette is a likely target, especially since he would command substantially less than a maximum salary.  Indeed, he suggests the Nug?s objective is Magette (at about $7 million) plus a max or near-max player.

At the same time, he suggests Olowokandi is likely to end up in San Antonio to replace David Robinson and Andre Miller is likely to end up in Utah to replace John Stockton.  San Antonio and Utah are the only two teams expected to have significant cap space.

On the Clippers front, the player they?re most likely to award a max salary, or match another team?s offer, is Elton Brand.

Is Magette likely to make the move to Denver?  "I think Denver is a nice place," he said. "I know (Denver general manager) Kiki (Vandeweghe) very well and some of their staff.

The next question: who will Denver seek for that maximum contract?

Chris Tomasson tells us that the Nuggets will be looking at LA Clippers to add to the roster on July 1.

A good article that explains a little about the salary cap.

Chris Tomasson writes about the Nuggets cap space and interest in LA Clipper players once the season ends.

A good article to let you know where the Nuggets will stand this offseason.

Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News turns in a great article on the cap space that is going to be available to the Nuggets on July 1.  

The article mentions several current LA Clipper players and Denver's chance at landing them in the offseason.

Being an NBA head coach is a stressful and often frustrating job, a position which sees grown men often ride a wave of emotions.  In a game which is decided by a single possession these bottled emotions may explode, but is there a fine line which a head coach must be careful not to cross?

Bulls coach Bill Cartwright may have crossed that line last night in Chicago's 77-75 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, offering some harsh words for some of his players, forward Marcus Fizer in particular.

"Rick Brunson wasn't very good. But who was good? Nobody. It's terrible. Marcus Fizer was terrible, a [expletive] embarrassment."

Fizer has been one of the Bulls most solid players through the last two months of the season, even winning the game against the Houston Rockets on a hustle play with 0.4 seconds left at home in the Bulls' last game.  According to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson Fizer was visibly upset after talking with reporters, near tears and punching his locker.

Cartwright took exception to Fizer?s tendancy to look for calls as he drove the ball into the lane, a trait he despises.  Fizer?s dives to the basket last night resulted in contact but no whistle.

"We're not looking for any fouls, period," Cartwright said. "You just play. It's as simple as that. That's part of the problem too. Nobody's going to bail you out here on the road. You have to earn your way."

Fizer didn?t agree with Cartwright?s assessment, suggesting that his coach look at what is going on before his actions rather than criticize when the players are out there trying to win.

"We were out there trying to win the game," Fizer said. "I don't agree with [Cartwright] at all. I went at it with a purpose.?

"Each and every time I took the ball to the basket, I ended up on my head. I would think that would be an example of someone trying to win a ballgame."

Last night was the first of Chicago?s five game West Coast swing, with stops in Portland, Seattle, Phoenix and Denver still to come.

"The Clippers didn't have anything to do with how we're playing," Cartwright said. "It's our inability to be ready to play, to be ready to guard, to be ready to rebound, to be ready to make a shot. We had guys not show up. And until we have guys who play on the road as well as home, we may not win a game. Who knows??

It was another game in which the Bulls showed an inability to simply win on the road, despite appearing to have control during the fourth quarter.  The Bulls lost a five point lead in the fourth quarter, prompting Cartwright to smash his clipboard in frustration as yet another winnable game fell through his fingers.

"We should be past this," Cartwright said. "And that's what's disappointing."

Eighteen hours on and Johnson writes in his latest article that Cartwright regrets nothing he has said on the issue.

"I don't regret anything. I told these guys this morning, 'The reason I was upset is because I think you're good when you play right. And you should be upset too.'

"If I single out guys, it's because I expect more from them. It's not to belittle them. It's because I think they're pretty [darn] good. A guy like Marcus has to be more consistent because I think this guy is the best sixth man in basketball."

Fizer seems to have calmed since the incident also, saying "I can handle adversity, and I don't dwell on the past at all. It's time to move on, and that's what I think we've done."

For the record Bulls GM Jerry Krause is standing by Cartwright on the issue, saying that his coach was simply blowing off steam and has a handle on the situation.

"I would assume he let off a little steam, which is fine," Krause said Thursday. "Coaches are allowed to do that. And I'm sure he told Marcus before he told you. Bill knows where to go with that. He's very bright and knows how to handle himself. If he thinks somebody needs to be criticized, he'll do it. Bill handles things very well."

The Bulls are expected to bring rookie Jay Williams off the injured list before tonight's game against the Blazers, while Rasheed Wallace returns after his seven game suspension for Portland.  Lonny Baxter will take Williams' place on the injured list, allowing the Bulls to run with three active point guards.

For Jazz fans wondering why they paid big bucks to see their team coast for three quarters Wednesday against the Clippers, there may have been a bright side to the eventual Utah defeat.
     
It may have offered a look at the Jazz cornerstones of the future.
     
There has been speculation that Utah is interested in both ex-Ute point guard Andre Miller and power forward Elton Brand, both of whom will be restricted free agents this summer.
     
Miller got most of the postgame attention, having been a local college favorite, but Brand probably was the more impressive player in the game, which the Clippers won, 96-89.

The future star of the Utah Jazz staged a nice demonstration Wednesday night at the Delta Center. When it counted most, he was setting things up, grabbing rebounds, delivering assists, making shots, sinking free throws.
     
In his best moments, he provided a glimpse into Tomorrowland, when John Stockton and Karl Malone are no longer around.
     
Maybe it won't be a long wait for the Jazz to return to prominence, after all. Maybe they'll continue making the playoffs without a hitch. This guy has smarts, youth, talent and enthusiasm.
     
He's everything the Jazz could hope for.
     
But wait! Did you think I was talking about Andrei Kirilenko? No way. I was speaking of 'Dre, not 'Drei.

Last time, Mark Eaton started at center. Bobby Hansen was in the backcourt with John Stockton. Mike Brown, not to be confused with former franchise players John Brown, Raymond Brown or Tony Brown, was the small forward next to Karl Malone.

Last time the Los Angeles Clippers won in Utah, the Jazz played in the Salt Palace, for goodness sake. Elton Brand was 10 years old, and the Clippers were virtually every bit as bad as now.
     
In that regard, Utah's 96-89 loss to the 16-25 Clippers on Wednesday night was a letdown.
     
Yet it was hardly the only disappointment for the Jazz, who fell to 25-16 as winning streaks of four games overall and seven at home came to a close.

The assignment (should you choose to accept it) was to write something interesting, informative or insightful about Andre Miller, the former University of Utah basketball star.

It was not to write something about how Miller"s team, the lowly Los Angeles Clippers -- who happen to reside in last place in the NBA's Pacific Division -- came into town and, for the first time since 1989, beat the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, 96-89, Wednesday night.

And nobody in their right mind, or in any other mind for that matter, could have possibly seen this train wreck coming for a Utah team that had won four straight and 13 of its previous 16 games.

After all, historically, the Clippers were 0-for-Utah -- 0-22 in the Delta Center and 0-26 overall in SLC. The last time they won here, on April 18, 1989, guys named Mark Eaton, Darrell Griffith, Mike Brown and Bobby Hansen played for the Jazz.