Congratulations, Masai Ujiri! You have been hired as the new General Manager of the Denver Nuggets, the reigning Northwest Division Champions and a 53-game winner that is just two seasons removed from reaching the Conference Finals.

Oh, and by the way, if you could promptly resolve this pesky little issue with an unhappy franchise superstar who is nearing free agency while also improving the long-term fortunes of an aging team seemingly on a downward slope, that would be great.

Such is life for the 39-year old Nigerian since being hired to the Nuggets’ vacant GM post last week, replacing the fired Mark Warkentien. But the tense situation that Ujiri is about to face does not diminish his remarkable path to the job.

Ujiri’s passion for basketball manifested itself while growing up in Nigeria, as he pushed for any opportunities possible to gain court time on what limited facilities were made available to him. Looking to increase those opportunities for future generations of children, he became the director of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. His involvement with the program continued even as he took his first NBA front office job, as the director of international scouting for the Nuggets.

Ujiri, who is now returning to Denver to occupy the GM post after three years spent as an assistant General Manager with the Toronto Raptors, remains dedicated to improving basketball-playing opportunities for children throughout Africa and has clearly made a favorable impression on the Nuggets’ brain trust.

But such goodwill will only take you so far, especially when you are in charge of a team in turmoil. The Carmelo Anthony issue looms large for the franchise, with the main priority being appeasing the 26-year old and getting is name on a long-term contract with the club. However, Anthony’s unhappiness and desire to be traded has been widely reported, thus indicating that it may not be that simple.

Ujiri has stated that he plans to sit down with the man known as ‘Melo and iron out some of the problems (none of which have been aired publicly to any media outlet, by the way). If he can simply talk the former Syracuse star down off the ledge and give the Nuggets a chance – as fellow rookie GM Dell Demps seems to have done with Chris Paul in New Orleans – then it will be an achievement in itself. But this team certainly doesn’t want to get “Cleveland’ed” or even “Toronto’d” and watch their superstar leave for nothing next summer.

After all, the Nuggets, coming off of their seventh consecutive play-off appearance and third straight 50-win season, may look good from a distance, but have an ever-approaching shelf life. Consider some of the team’s other key players: Chauncey Billups is 33 and showing signs of slowing down, Nene is closing in on his 28^th birthday with a long history of injuries, Chris Andersen is 32 and still playing a high-energy style best suited for young players and J.R. Smith’s name has popped up in too many trade rumors to believe he’s long for this team. Even head coach George Karl seems to be on the decline, as health issues have caused him to miss significant time, including last season’s first round play-off loss to Utah. Meanwhile, high-priced veteran Kenyon Martin and free agent signee Al Harrington are nice role players, but hardly capable of enticing a guy like Anthony to stay.

With him in tow beyond this season, it’s amazing how much the franchise’s fortune changes. With no other significant losses this off-season and the addition of Harrington, the squad would be able to maintain a similar standing in the Western Conference and benefit from a few more solid seasons from its veterans. In the meantime, young talents like Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo would have the chance to develop around Anthony and remain competitive moving forward.

If, however, nothing can be resolved, Ujiri will have to look to kick off his tenure with a major, legacy-shaping trade. A quick Google search reveals already-rampant speculation about trade partners ranging from the New York Knicks to the Sacramento Kings. A package of young players and/or draft picks could certainly fast-track the rebuilding process in Denver, but the new GM won’t be able to find another talent with the size, skill and scoring ability that Anthony brings to the table.

It’s a fascinating, critical time in the land of the Nuggets and Ujiri finds himself right in the middle of it, with the honeymoon phase over before it even began.