A lot has been said about the players that are set to hit the free agent market this summer, but there could be some big coaches available as well.

Barring an unforeseen extension, Karl's contract will run out with the Nuggets.

A well-informed source told the Journal Times that "it's slim to none" that Karl will return to Denver.

Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups wasn't named the the Western Conference All-Star team on Thursday, but the snub isn't bothering him.

"I'm good with it," Billups said. "Everyone who made it deserves it. Every year there are situations where people deserve it and do not make it, especially at the guard position in the Western Conference. There are always two, three or four guys that didn't make it that could've. There are not enough spots. I would definitely say that in the Western Conference, the guard position is toughest without a doubt.

"I'm going to find some good weather and relax."

Billups is averaging 19.2 points, 5.9 assists and 1.2 steals for the Nuggets, but eight games missed due to injury probably didn't help his case.

"I'm sure it played a role," Billups said. "We have the second-best record in the West. If I didn’t miss the eight games we could be vying for the best record, the first spot. If we had the best record in the league, it could be different.

"But I'm all about the team. We are where we need to be as a team. I'm also feeling great. No ailments. The rest is probably most valuable for me."

RealGM Note: In a poll regarding All-Star snubs on our main page, Billups received the highest percentage of votes (35%). Atlanta's Josh Smith and New York's David Lee placed second and third, with 21% and 20%, respectively.

Nuggets coach George Karl will lead the Western Conference All-Stars next month in Dallas.

With the Mavericks losing to the Suns on Thursday night and the Lakers' Phil Jackson ineligible, Denver clinched at least a tie with Dallas for the second-best record in the West through Sunday's games.

Karl has the tiebreaker over the Mavericks' Rick Carlisle because he coached the East in 2004, and Karl's last appearance came in 1998 for the West.

Jackson coached the West last year, making him ineligible this season.

Nuggets guard J.R. Smith doesn't think his recent actions have been a distraction to the team.

Denver's front office considered suspending Smith following an incident on Saturday that involved him pouting on the bench.

"I've got to work on some things with myself," Smith said Tuesday. "Just my attitude toward the game. I've got to control my body language. And stay focused."

Smith had a talk with coach George Karl and the guard described it as a good meeting.

"It's not a big deal. We've been through this stuff before but we always came back and got the best out of it for both of us, so it's not really a big deal," he said.

Kenyon Martin has been fined $35,000 for actions surrounding his ejection from Monday night’s game vs. the Charlotte Bobcats, it was announced on Tuesday by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.  

The incident occurred with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter of Denver’s 104-93 win over the Bobcats at the Pepsi Center.

The Nuggets are worried that J.R. Smith's antics will threaten their goal of winning an NBA title.

"He's one of our best players, and if you have one of your best players not either playing at his best or acting as best he can, it's going to affect the team," said Nuggets captain Chauncey Billups.

"And his role has been increased this year. The last couple years, he maybe wasn't a player we had to lean on every night. We need J.R. (this year). He knows that. We need him to be right ? at all times."

The Nuggets considered suspending Smith after the guard's pouting antics during Saturday's game, but decided against it on Monday.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was named today as the NBA?s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, January 18th through Sunday, January 24th.  

In three games during the week, James averaged an NBA-best 34.0 points on .484 shooting, 7.7 rebounds and a league-high 10.7 assists in 41.3 minutes per game.  

The Denver Nuggets? Chauncey Billups was named the Western Conference Player of the Week.  Other nominees for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week were Atlanta?s Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson, Miami?s Dwayne Wade, Milwaukee?s Andrew Bogut, Orlando?s Dwight Howard and Toronto?s Chris Bosh.

The Nuggets have decided not to suspend J.R. Smith for his poor behavior in Saturday's game, coach George Karl and vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman said Monday morning.

The struggling Smith was seen pouting, and coach George Karl described Smith's behavior on the bench as "eclectic" and said: "You can all interpret his body language as much as I can interpret it. It's different."

The Nuggets are considering suspending J.R. Smith for behavior detrimental to the team during Saturday's game, a source told the Denver Post.

George Karl didn't play Smith at all in the third quarter and the shooting guard was seen pouting on the bench during Denver's win.

The Nuggets tried to deal for Chicago center Aaron Gray, but the deal fell through.

Gray is averaging 2.3 points per game and makes around $1 million.