The Denver Nuggets don't exactly qualify as desperate. Compared to the Lakers, they've got a nucleus with more polish and better balance.

Yet NBA front-office sources tell ESPN.com that Denver is pursuing Ron Artest as hard as anyone, and here's an explanation: If you want to narrow the gap with West powerhouse San Antonio, acquiring Artest to counter Manu Ginobili isn't a bad idea ... assuming, of course, that Artest is actually playing as opposed to doing or saying things that get him suspended.

The Nuggets also have a coach who, a bit like Artest, is known for his eccentricities. Although my old studio-show colleague George Karl probably won't appreciate being lumped into the same sentence with Ron-Ron, I could see them co-existing.

It would certainly be volatile, probably wilder than Furious George and Gary Payton in Seattle, but it's a pairing with potential, as is Carmelo Anthony and Artest.