Denver, CO

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl says the much anticipated potential showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder is nothing but summer talk.

Karl says the star-studded Lakers - who recently acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash this offseason - and the reigning Western Conference final champion Oklahoma City Thunder are talented teams but it doesn't assure the top two spots in the conference.

"What I basically say is -- that's summer talk. You have two teams that probably have the most talented players, especially in their top seven, but it's summer talk," Karl told Daily Camera.com Sunday.

Karl added the Nuggets are also making steps to join the elites in the NBA.

"I have a lot of respect for both of those teams. But that doesn't mean we never thought we could overtake them, Karl added. "Our goal this summer was: How do we get better? And how do we move closer to the top-echelon teams?

The Nuggets re-signed Andre Miller and Javale McGee this offseason and traded for Andrei Iguodala in last summer's megabuck deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers and Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Nuggest coach believes Iguodala makes his team a much better defensive team because of his ability to guard 2-3 positions.

"We get a guy who fits how we play -- he's an athlete, loves to run, he's a play-maker, but also a top-10 defender in the game. So how we build our defense with a great defender who can (defend) point guard, shooting guard, small forward and probably power forward," said Karl, who envisions Denver to compete for a title in three to four years.

"Our goal in the next three to four years is to build this thing and make steps toward a championship," Karl told Daily Camera.com Sunday.

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