Veteran point guard Andre Miller turned in another impactful performance on Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Denver Nuggets' first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, and head coach George Karl just hopes Denver gets a chance to bring him back next season. Miller turned in a team-high 24 points on 8-11 shooting to go with eight assists in the 102-99 victory on Tuesday, and Karl doesn't want to think about losing him to another team when Miller becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Back in January, the 12-year NBA vet said "I don't see myself as a backup...This is a short season, so I'll deal with it. But I don't see myself as a backup at this point in my career. I don't see that," so if the team makes a lucrative extension offer to starting PG Ty Lawson it could be difficult to convince Miller to return. However, Karl told Nuggets.com reporter Aaron J. Lopez on Tuesday night that he just wants Miller to give the team "a chance to communicate how much we would like to get him back this summer." Here are the tweets Lopez posted on the subject:
#Nuggets coach George Karl says he wants veteran point guard Andre Miller back next season. "My feeling is he’s enjoyed the year."
— Aaron J. Lopez (@Lopez_Nuggets) May 9, 2012
More Karl on Miller: "I hope he gives us a chance to communicate how much we would like to get him back this summer."
— Aaron J. Lopez (@Lopez_Nuggets) May 9, 2012
The Nuggets traded Raymond Felton to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Andre Miller (along with a swap of the No. 21 and No. 22 picks) on the day of the 2011 NBA Draft, which effectively cleared the way for Lawson to take the starting job in Denver.
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