Question: Which free agent picked up by the Denver Nuggets in the 1996-97 season is an All-American at the University of North Carolina, and a two-time NBA Champion with the Houston Rockets?

Context articles: Kenny Smith
1996–97 Denver Nuggets season
1999–2000 Boston Celtics season
List of Denver Nuggets head coaches
2002–03 Houston Rockets season
2003–04 Denver Nuggets season
2002–03 Denver Nuggets season
Jawann Oldham
2002–03 Los Angeles Clippers season
2015–16 Philadelphia 76ers season

Kenneth "Kenny" Smith (born March 8, 1965) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
 He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Denver Nuggets.
 Nicknamed "The Jet", Smith was an All-American at the University of North Carolina and a two-time NBA Champion with the Houston Rockets.
 Smith is currently a basketball analyst, and has won several Emmys for his work on "Inside the NBA" on TNT.
 He also works as an analyst for CBS/Turner during the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Nuggets' 21st season in the National Basketball Association, and 30th season as a franchise.
 In the offseason, the Nuggets acquired Mark Jackson and Ricky Pierce from the Indiana Pacers, and signed free agent Ervin Johnson.
 However, after a 4–9 start to the season, Bernie Bickerstaff was forced out as head coach and replaced with Dick Motta, where the Nuggets then lost ten straight games along the way.
 Midway through the season, Jackson was traded back to the Indiana Pacers, while Pierce was dealt to the Charlotte Hornets.
 Meanwhile, the Nuggets signed free agent Kenny Smith, who won championships with the Houston Rockets.
 As the season drew, the Nuggets still struggled losing 26 of their final 30 games, finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with a 21–61 record.
 Despite playing just 55 games due to a knee injury and a ruptured achilles tendon, LaPhonso Ellis led the team in scoring with a career high of 21.9 points per game.
The 1999–2000 NBA season was the 54th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.
 During the offseason, the Celtics signed free agent Calbert Cheaney while acquiring Danny Fortson, and former Celtics forward Eric Williams from the Denver Nuggets.
 In the third year of the Rick Pitino era, the Celtics played around .500 for the first few months, but then struggled suffering a ten-game losing streak between March and April.
 Fans and the media began to show their impatience with the struggling franchise, who finished out of the playoffs again with a 35–47 record, fifth in the Atlantic Division.
 Second-year star Paul Pierce had a stellar season averaging 19.5 points per game, second on the team in scoring.
 Following the season, Dana Barros was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, who then traded him to the Detroit Pistons two months later, Cheaney was traded to the Denver Nuggets, and Fortson was dealt to the Golden State Warriors.
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado.
 They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
 The Nuggets were founded as the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967.
 In 1974, in anticipation of moving to the NBA, the franchise held a contest to choose a new trademarked name for the team, as Rockets was already in use by the Houston Rockets and the name Nuggets won.
 In 1976, the ABA folded, and the NBA decided to admit four ABA teams into the league, including the Nuggets, the San Antonio Spurs, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Nets.
The 2002–03 NBA season was the Rockets' 36th season in the National Basketball Association, and 32nd season in the city of Houston.
 This was their final season playing at the Compaq Center.
 The Rockets won the Draft Lottery, where they selected 7'6" Chinese sensation Yao Ming with the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft.
 In December, the Rockets acquired James Posey from the Denver Nuggets in a three-team trade which sent Kenny Thomas to the Philadelphia 76ers.
 This season was also head coach Rudy Tomjanovich's last as he would step down following the season due to health issues.
 With Yao teamed up with captain Steve Francis, they gelled their first season together, being named as starters for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game.
 On January 17, 2003, Francis gained national media attention, scoring a career-high 44 points in a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
 The Rockets would go on to finish the season with a 43–39 record without clinching a playoff spot, although they improved on last season, where they won just 28 games.
The 2003–04 NBA season was the 28th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 37th season as a franchise.
 The season saw the team draft future All-Star Carmelo Anthony with the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft.
 During the offseason, the team signed free agent Andre Miller, and re-signed former Nuggets guard Voshon Lenard.
 Coming off with the worst record of 17–65 the previous season, Anthony led the Nuggets to a fast start winning 13 of their first 19 games.
 However, the team struggled down the stretch posting losing records in February and March.
 The Nuggets finished sixth in the Midwest Division with a 43–39 record, and made the playoffs for the first time since 1995.
 Anthony had a stellar rookie season averaging 21.0 points per game, and being selected to the All-Rookie First Team.
 He also finished second behind LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Rookie of The Year voting.
The 2002–03 NBA season was the Nuggets' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, and 36th season as a franchise.
 Prior to the start of the season, the Nuggets acquired Marcus Camby and rookie Nenê from the New York Knicks.
 After a 2–9 start to the season with new head coach Jeff Bzdelik, the Nuggets won three straight games, but then lost 15 of their next 16 games, which included a ten-game losing streak.
 In December, James Posey was traded to the Houston Rockets in a three-team trade.
 However, the team struggled posting a 14-game losing streak between February and March.
 They lost their final eight games finishing last place in the Midwest Division and in the league with 17 wins and 65 losses, the franchise's worst record since 1997–98.
 They also missed the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons.
 Nenê was selected to the All-Rookie First Team.
 Following the season, Juwan Howard signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic.
Jawann Oldham (born July 4, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the 2nd round (41st overall) of the 1980 NBA draft.
 A 7'0" center from Seattle University, Oldham played in 10 NBA seasons for 8 different teams.
 He played for the Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers.
The 2002–03 NBA season was the Clippers' 33rd season in the National Basketball Association, and their 19th season in Los Angeles.
 During the offseason, the Clippers acquired Andre Miller from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
 With the acquisition of Miller, there was a sense of optimism surrounding the Clippers for the first time in years.
 However, young players were concerned with stats for free agency than winning games, which created tension in the locker room all year.
 Head coach Alvin Gentry was fired after a 19–39 start, and was replaced with Dennis Johnson.
 With all the Clippers playing as individuals, the team fell apart early into the season and sank back to the bottom of the Pacific Division with a 27–55 record.
 Following the season, Johnson was fired as coach, Lamar Odom signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat, Michael Olowokandi signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Miller signed with the Denver Nuggets, and longtime three-point specialist Eric Piatkowski signed with the Houston Rockets.
The 2015–16 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 77th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
 It was also the second straight season that Joel Embiid, their third pick in the 2014 NBA draft, would not suit up for the 76ers due to a leg injury.
 Philadelphia broke the record for the longest losing streak in American professional sports history with 27 straight losses over this season and last season with a 114–116 loss to the Houston Rockets.
 The losing streak would reach to 28 games (with the 18 straight losses tying the record for longest opening season losing streak with the 2009–10 New Jersey Nets) before getting their first victory at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, which was also Kobe Bryant's last game against the 76ers in Philadelphia.
 Philadelphia would also hire former Phoenix Suns owner, coach, general manager, and four-time NBA Executive of the Year winner Jerry Colangelo on December 7, 2015 as their Chairman of Basketball Operations.
 Eleven days later, former Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni would join the team as an associate head coach.
 Near the end of the season, general manager Sam Hinkie would announce his resignation from his position, being replaced by Jerry's son Bryan Colangelo before the end of the season.
 Jerry would also announce his personal demotion from his original position afterwards.
 They finished just one game shy of tying the NBA record for most losses in a season set by themselves during their 1972–73 season when they went 9–73.
 However, it would be the season where Sam Hinkie's goal of "The Process" came into full fruition since they'd later earn the #1 selection in the 2016 NBA draft.