The future.

That’s why NBA emperor David Stern delivered his devastating blow to the Denver Nuggets on Monday. That’s why he banished Carmelo Anthony for 15 games.

Stern, along with millions of fans, is disgusted for what passes for basketball in the NBA. He wants to see a return to the game’s true spirit.

Basketball isn’t boxing or football. It’s played without pads, a game that should be filled with finesse and grace, not wrestling and punching.

Saturday night, the New York Knicks and Nuggets got confused and thought they were in a street fight. Watching video of the brawl was similar to suffering through a Mel Gibson movie. You know, full of all sorts of hideous, unnecessary violence.

On Monday, Stern delivered a strong statement against the punching and wrestling. He deserves applause.

“We have set up the goal of eliminating fighting from our game,” Stern said.

Amen, Mr. Stern. Amen.

Nuggets coach George Karl did his best to steer conversation toward Knicks coach Isiah Thomas. Karl started by calling Thomas “despicable” and “a jerk” before switching to filthy names we can’t print.

Thomas suggested the brawl was a result of Karl’s trying to humiliate the Knicks by running up the score late in a Nuggets’ rout. This claim ignited the pilot light in Karl’s soul.

“I’ll swear on my children’s life that I never thought about running up the score,” Karl said. “… You’re telling me that I’m trying to run the score up? He’s full of (expletive).”

When a coach turns to extreme overstatement and brings his children into the discussion, you know he feels guilty. Karl knows he played a role in Saturday’s circus.

He was angry the Knicks dumped his friend Larry Brown, and he wanted Thomas to taste his anger. He wanted to lay waste to the Knicks.

Did Thomas get off easy? Sure, he did. He all but admitted he ordered his Knicks to deliver tough justice under the basket. He deserved his own suspension.

But the Thomas-Karl fued is a distraction from the core lesson from this melee.

Basketball, American-style, is in crisis. The United States keeps losing in international competition because we think the game is all about wrestling and dunking.

This is our game, born in our land, but players from far shores better comprehend its essence.

Stern might have taken a different look at the brawl. NBA history is packed with punches and vicious fouls. In the 1950s, there was a fight nearly every night in the league, and many of the game’s better players have long doubled as expert maulers.

Then came Nov. 19, 2004, when Ron Artest terrorized a basketball game in Detroit. The madness invaded the stands, and we all watched players pounding on fans.

Stern was watching, too. He saw his game teetering on the edge of extinction.

That’s why he was so harsh Monday. And that’s why he was right in his severe rebuke.