Anthony Carter Won't Agree to Any Trade

DENVER -- You could call him Mr. Team Player. But Anthony Carter has another name.

"I just stay ready,'' he said. "It's my last name. Anthony Ready.''

If there are any doubts about Carter's commitment to the Denver Nuggets, consider what the point guard said in a Wednesday interview with FanHouse.

When point guards Chauncey Billups and Ty Lawson are healthy, Carter usually doesn't play. He hadn't logged a picosecond in eight of nine games entering Wednesday's against Phoenix.

You'd think Carter, who played serious minutes for the Nuggets until rookie Lawson arrived this season, would be clamoring for a trade. And a source said earlier in the season the Nuggets had been thinking of Carter, 34, as possibly being fodder in a deal by the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
But Carter won't be going anywhere. He was asked what he would say if told by the Nuggets they want to deal him.

"I ain't going nowhere,'' Carter said. "Because I got to approve it. So I ain't going nowhere.''

Due to signing a one-year contract last summer and having Bird free-agent rights this summer, Carter has the right to veto any trade. So it sounds as if it would be a waste of time for the Nuggets to even think of including him in a deal.

In this era of me-first athletes, Carter is refreshing. So what if the 11-year veteran only has played in 27 of Denver's 48 games this season, he said what matters is being on one of the NBA's top teams.

"We're in a great position and we're winning. You can't ask for more. Why would I go somewhere else and be miserable?"
- Anthony Carter "Everything is cool. It doesn't bother me,'' Carter, averaging 4.0 points and 3.0 assists for the 33-15 Nuggets, said of his erratic playing time. "We're in a great position and we're winning. You can't ask for more. Why would I go somewhere else and be miserable? You never know when your name is going to be called. I just stay ready.

"Why would I go somewhere for more playing time if they're losing? It's all about winning, and I feel we're in a great position... I wouldn't want to move my family.''

OK, so what if the Nuggets offered to trade him to a winner?

"I wouldn't consider that either,'' he said. "I'm happy with where I'm at. Kids happy. Wife happy. Why would I jeopardize all that and move them in the middle of the season and stuff like that? It's not fun being in a hotel by yourself or an apartment by yourself when you got two kids and a wife. I definitely wouldn't consider no move.''

Such talk is music to the ears of Nuggets coach George Karl. He wouldn't want Carter, one of his favorite players, to be dealt.

"I want to hug him,'' Karl said when told of Carter saying he wouldn't agree to any trade.

Karl believes it's important having Carter around. When Billups and Lawson had stretches in December and January when they were hurt, Carter played 11 or more minutes in 14 straight games, although the Nuggets went just 7-7. That followed a stretch in which he didn't play in 12 of 14 games.

"He's helped us win six or seven games already this year in those 20-minute spurts,'' said Karl, who has used Carter for 20 or more minutes 12 times this season when Denver has had injuries or suspensions. "Not many guys would have that mental commitment and focus (to quickly fit in after long stretches of inactivity).''

That's why he says his name is Anthony Ready.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson