Count George Karl as someone that is hopeful the Nuggets will re-sign point Steve Blake when he becomes a free agent in the summer.

"I don't think there's any question we're very interested in putting him on our team next year," Karl said. "He's been impressive, a lot better than I thought."

If George Karl's son Coby goes undrafted this June, there is a good chance that he will be invited by the Nuggets to their summer camp.

"My feeling is yes," Karl said of the 6-foot-4 guard, who just completed his senior season at Boise State and is a long shot to be a second-round pick.

"Right now, my feeling is he fits what we need. We need kind of a playmaking bigger player."

It would be a tough decision," Coby said. "I want to make a team. So, if this is the best opportunity, I'd probably be more than willing to do it."

Coby Karl is all-conference basketball player at Boise State and also the son of Nuggets' coach George Karl.

He is scheduled to have surgery on April 2nd to remove cancerous lymph nodes that were discovered several weeks ago.

The operation at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise will be the second in 13 months for Karl, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last year.

According to a news release from Boise State University, one in 10 thyroid cancer patients require follow-up surgery. Karl's prognosis for recovery is considered "excellent," according to the university.

With his latest 50 point game, Kobe Bryant took over the NBA scoring lead from Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony. It?s the first time Anthony hasn?t led since games entering Nov. 18. Bryant is averaging 30.0 points to 29.75 for Anthony.

"We talked about going to Kobe early in games and not waiting," coach Phil Jackson said. "He had been playing the team role, feeling the game out and waiting ?til the second half to get going. But there?s just not enough time right now in the season to develop that."

Not a good day or night for Phil Jackson thanks to the NBA and Linas Kleiza.

Jackson got fined $50,000 for accusing the league of having a vendetta against Kobe Bryant, then lost a seventh straight game for the first time in his 16-year coaching career Thursday night when the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Denver Nuggets 113-86.

Kleiza scored a career-high 29 points and Carmelo Anthony had 26 as the Nuggets handed the Lakers their 13th loss in 16 games.

Despite beating Portland on Tuesday night, Nuggets coach George Karl was far from satisfied.

"Twenty-four great minutes, and then 24 minutes of frustration," Karl said. "There's a part of me that says our energy, our fatigue, our pace, has to be coached. We run in the first half, run out of gas and play a possession, slow-down game in the second half."

Karl said he challenged the Nuggets to hold Portland to under 30 percent shooting in the second half. That didn't happen. Not even close, in fact, as the Trail Blazers shot a blistering 59.5 percent in the second half and scored 62 points after tallying just 37 in the first half.

Karl wasn't happy about that.

"I'd like to have a 48-minute game where we go and play well in both quarters, both halves and only small moments of lulls," Karl said.

The NBA on Monday rescinded a technical foul on Nuggets guard Allen Iverson. That could come in handy down the stretch.

Iverson was assessed what would have been his 11th technical of the season Sunday in Sacramento. Iverson not only saved the $2,500 fine but stays at 10, important because 16 results in a one-game suspension.

Nuggets coach George Karl said he will talk this weekend in Sacramento to forward Carmelo Anthony, who has been struggling of late.

"You go in and open the door and see where it goes," Karl said of what the conversation might entail before the Nuggets face the Kings on Sunday afternoon.

Anthony continues to lead the NBA in scoring with a 29.9 average, but he called his play "terrible" in the second half of Friday's 95-82 loss to Detroit. After scoring just 17 points against the Pistons, Anthony's average dropped under 30 for the first time since games entering Nov. 14.

"He's had a heavy year and the fantastic thing in the NBA is you can shake it off in about a week," Karl said of Anthony. "All you got to do is go out and keep working hard and keep focusing and playing hard."

"He's too talented not to break out of it. It's like a baseball hitter. They all go into slumps, but they?re not very far from going 4-of-4."

The Kings said Saturday they will allow Ron Artest to return to the team, five days after his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence.

The Kings called a news conference for Saturday afternoon to discuss the return of the controversial forward after missing two games. Sacramento hosts the Nuggets on Sunday.

Reports out of Denver on Friday suggested that there is a realistic chance of Chauncey Billups returning to the Nuggets this summer.

On Friday, Billups said that people shouldn't get too far ahead of themselves.

"But I think people are blowing it out of proportion. Everybody knows I love Detroit and I want to be in and, barring anything crazy, hopefully that's how it works out," he said. "But one thing I know is you never know in this business."