New Jersey forward Eduardo Najera, who played for the Nuggets from 2005 to '08, might not be able to play against his former team later this week.

Najera is sidelined by a lower abdominal strain but is pushing to return by Saturday.

"They're saying they want me to rest it until after the (Feb. 14-16) All-Star break," Najera said Monday, "but I really want to play against Denver."

THE PRICE OF DEFEAT

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger helped Karl put a Ben Franklin in his pocket. Karl, a Pennsylvania native, proudly showed off a $100 bill Monday, courtesy of a Super Bowl bet he made with Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony, a Baltimore Ravens fan, autographed the C-note after the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

"I might give it to my 4-year-old for when she turns 21 and see what it's worth," Karl said. "See if the economy has increased or the autograph has increased."

ETC.

The Nuggets have played only four games in the past 13 days, but the light schedule has not helped forward Kenyon Martin completely recover from a sore left wrist. "It feels good some days, and then I go out there and try to break my fall or get hit on it," he said, "so days off really don't matter with it."

According to the Dallas Morning News, the NBA will not allow Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to make a $25,000 donation to a Hurricane Katrina relief fund in Nuggets guard J.R. Smith's name. Cuban was fined $25,000 after confronting Smith at halftime of Denver's win Jan. 13 against Dallas.

Staff writer Chris Tomasson contributed to this report.