The Denver Nuggets have had no shortage of contract issues this summer, from the overplayed Carmelo Anthony situation to the post-cancer George Karl saying he’d like one more extension before he wraps up his coaching career. There’s also Kenyon Martin, a defensive stud who has no problem nursing his injury while he waits on a new agreement. All of them are handling their negotiations differently, including Arron Afflalo, one of the Nuggets’ most improved players this year.

Afflalo is in the last year of his rookie contract, and Monday was the deadline to present him with a new one. Yesterday came and went without an offer, but Afflalo doesn’t seem too upset. “I believe it’s a privileged position to even be having the ability [to talk about contracts] right now,” Afflalo tells The Denver Post. “If my agent and management were talking, I definitely appreciate it.”

Denver Stiffs points out that despite the contract concerns and all the other distractions following this team, the Nuggets are thriving. “In a perverse way, it seems like this adversity has created a professionalism among the players that didn’t really exist prior to this offseason,” Stiffs writes.

Granted, the Nuggets are at 2-1 just three games into an 82-game season, but ESPN’s JA Adande notes that rival scouts see the Nuggets as a formidable threat, predicting the team will be “scary” (in a good way) when Martin and Chris “Birdman” Andersen return from injuries.