The initial rumor being kicked around prior to this week was that Carmelo Anthony would be meeting with Nuggets brass regarding trade rumors, which turned out not to be the case: yesterday’s meeting actually resulted in a 2-game suspension for his recent DUI arrest, and this morning, he pleaded to a lesser charge in Denver County Court (both per the DENVER POST).

Anthony will serve a year’s probation and 24 hours of community service to go along with his team’s imposed suspension. The 2 games are mostly symbolic, more than anything else, but appropriate, given that it’s his first offense. Anthony will also be part of a Colorado State Patrol campaign on driving responsibly.

The first-round draft pick and Nuggets’ franchise player is questioning some of the pressure being put on him with the arrest and the Nuggets being swept out of the playoffs by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

“I kind of get insulted when people say, ‘He took a step back,’ or things like that, because I feel like I’ve put in a lot of hard work to be where I’m at right now,” Anthony said in the phone interview from Chicago. “The only thing is I’m embarrassed about not winning the game. That’s the only thing I have my head down for and beat myself up on.

Asked for his reaction when he hears people say he needs to mature more, Anthony said: “Mature more, meaning what? I don’t feel like I did anything wrong. I own up to my mistakes. The (DUI) incident I had, I didn’t blame anybody. As far as being more mature, how can somebody say that? I don’t understand when they say that. What can I do?”

The only answer that probably will solve anything and everything for Anthony is “win.” It absolves plenty of the real and media-created “sins” of professional athletes. If he can lead a Nuggets team away from being the new Minnesota Timberwolves (out in the first round, always), there won’t be a ton of people who will remember the DWAI or the fight in Madison Square Garden, either.