It was Sept. 14, 1999, when then-Nuggets coach Mike D'Antoni was summoned to the office of Dan Issel for what he thought would be a routine matter.

When D'Antoni saw a lawyer sitting next to Issel, he knew it wasn't routine.

D'Antoni was ousted as coach of the Nuggets, and Issel, then also team president, took over. But their paths have gone different ways since then.

In 2001, Issel made a racial remark to a Hispanic fan after a game and was forced to resign. The Hall of Famer might never coach again.

In 2003, D'Antoni finally got the keys to another NBA team. And Sunday in Las Vegas, the Phoenix coach will lead the West in the All-Star Game.

"Yeah," D'Antoni said when asked if he thinks back to his dismissal by the Nuggets after steering them to a 14-36 mark in 1998-99, an improvement over the previous season's 11-71. "I'm glad it's worked out the way it did. I got lucky. I got with a great organization that put together some incredible players."

D'Antoni has not spoken with Issel since he was shown the door. He was asked if he ever would seek out Issel.

"I don't think so," said D'Antoni, who is 166-101 with Phoenix but 145-61 since the start of 2004-05. "I don't have anything against him. But I don't have fond memories."

D'Antoni is busy these days creating fond memories for Suns fans. Phoenix heads into the break at 39-13, although the Suns have dropped three straight with two-time Most Valuable Player Steve Nash out because of a right shoulder injury.

Nash won't play in the All-Star Game, but the Suns still are represented by Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire.

Stoudemire was in his second season in December 2003 when D'Antoni replaced Frank Johnson. With the Suns having traded Stephon Marbury to carve out salary-cap room, they limped home with a 21-40 mark under D'Antoni.

"A little bit," Stoudemire admits when asked if he's surprised D'Antoni went from there to being an All-Star coach.

Stoudemire helped out plenty by emerging as a star. Then the Suns made their biggest move, signing Nash in 2004 as a free agent.

Now, D'Antoni is heading for the All-Star Game.

"It's an honor," he said. "It will be a fun weekend. . . . I'll just roll out the balls. You just try to play everybody and make sure you don't tick anybody off and go with it."

Interesting word choice. Although he's more restrained, D'Antoni, in a 2004 interview, talked about being "ticked off" and "blindsided" by his Nuggets firing.

"Mike was a quality coach," said Bryant Stith, a swingman on D'Antoni's only Nuggets team who now is coach at his alma mater, Brunswick High School in Lawrenceville, Va.

"It was just a bad timing with management. Mike just got caught up in a bad situation. But he was able to go somewhere that had stability and talent, and his coaching was able to move to the forefront. I'm not surprised he's in the All-Star Game."

Stith was highly respected during his Nuggets tenure. Too bad some folks high up in the organization didn't ask his opinion of D'Antoni.

First timers

If Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, who makes his first All-Star appearance Sunday, wants to know what it's like, he doesn't have to look far.

Four other members of the Nuggets organization have been All-Star Game picks. They say the first time is the best.

Guard Allen Iverson would have been in his eighth game had he not been forced to bow out because of a sprained right ankle. Assistant coach Adrian Dantley appeared in six games with Utah in the 1980s.

Nuggets coach George Karl has headed three All-Star teams. And forward Kenyon Martin showed up in 2004.

"It's great to make it the first time," said Dantley, whose initial appearance was in 1980 in Landover, Md., a suburb of his native Washington. "The first one is the important one."

Iverson recalled being blown away watching Vince Carter win the dunk contest when he showed up in Oakland, Calif., for his first game with Philadelphia in 2000. When Karl was in Minnesota on Wednesday, he paused to remember coaching his first All-Star Game for Seattle in 1994 at the Target Center.

"I'm happy for Melo," Karl said. "The first time you go is always a celebration."

Martin said he's "not satisfied with just having one (All-Star Game) under my belt."

If he gets to a second, though, it might not match how he felt representing New Jersey at his All-Star debut in Los Angeles.

"Just hearing them call your name in the pregame introductions and stuff like that is cool," Martin said.

En guard

Karl would like a guard. But will his owner choose instead to guard his money?

With Thursday's trade deadline approaching, Karl wants backcourt help. But it remains to be seen if Stan Kroenke will exceed the luxury tax for a team (26-25) barely over .500.

The Nuggets, with an injured Iverson having missed eight of the past nine games, have been playing with Steve Blake as their only true point guard. Karl would like another.

The Nuggets, with a $2.95 million trade exception and only 13 players on the roster, no doubt could find a functional player. But that's where Kroenke enters the picture.

The Nuggets are just under the luxury tax threshold of $65.4 million, and a deal could put them over. Even if the Nuggets stand pat, some player bonuses could throw them into the dollar-for- dollar tax.

If center Marcus Camby, who has played in 42 games, gets to 65 for the season, that could net him about $1.75 million more in bonuses than his current cost against the cap. And Blake is on his way to pocketing a $250,000 bonus for averaging 26 minutes.

"Stan has been great," Karl said. "He'll do whatever makes the team better."

Or will he do whatever helps the payroll?

The Nuggets could make a move to help the team on the court down the stretch. Or Kroenke, who figures to be a big taxpayer next season, could look to shed salary with his team not exactly in prime playoff position.

Seeing stars

• How one-time Denver Rockets/Nuggets coaches fared in the NBA All-Star Game:

Year Coach Team Conference Result

1958 Alex Hannum St. Louis Western Lost 130-118

1965 Alex Hannum San Francisco Western Lost 124-123

1968 Alex Hannum Philadelphia Eastern Won 144-124

1977 Larry Brown Denver Western Won 125-124

1979 Dick Motta Washington Eastern Lost 134-129

1994 George Karl Seattle Western Lost 127-118

1996 George Karl Seattle Western Lost 129-118

1998 George Karl Seattle Western Lost 135-114

2001 Larry Brown Philadelphia Eastern Won 111-110

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com

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