The Nuggets dumped guaranteed contracts worth more than $100 million and the headaches that Nick Van Exel was determined to inflict. But they also got rid of their two best healthy players, Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz, without picking up a single asset they will actually want to keep.

This is not to condemn the Nuggets for being on the wrong side of a lopsided deal. OK, it is. But the logic of sacrificing a season or several seasons to save cap room to chase free agents some day has become as common as it is ludicrous. It is the equivalent of a gambler placing his life's saving on one number and being shocked when the roulette wheel does not reward his audacity.

The Nuggets are 16-35 and haven't been in the playoffs since 1995. But the summer after next, they will have cap space.