The Nuggets seem set for an offseason of negotiating.
It was only a year ago that the Denver Nuggets were a 50-win team featuring one of the deepest squads in the league. While I viewed the fact that the analytical projections had the Nuggets winning the West as something to chuckle about, they did look like a team that could at least win a round in the playoffs.
A true team in every sense of the word, they were undeniably an intriguing squad before Danilo Gallinari, the team’s best go-to-scorer and centerpiece of the Carmelo Anthony trade, suffered a torn ACL just before the beginning of the playoffs.
Denver already lacked a true number-one scoring option and relied heavily upon their ball movement and defense to create the majority of their offense. Without Gallinari, they fell to the Steph Curry-led Warriors in the first round, and future Hall-of-Famer and 2012-13 Coach of the Year George Karl was shown the door in favor of Brian Shaw. Andre Iguodala bolted to the Bay, leaving them with nothing to show for giving up Arron Afflalo as part of the previous summer’s Dwight Howard blockbuster deal.
While Gallinari is expected to make his return for training camp after missing all of 2013-14, what was looking like a smooth transition into the Post-Anthony Era is now a much more murky mess with a quandary of questions. Still, since Shaw coached the Nuggets to 36 wins, this suggests that Denver did very well in replacing Karl. Given Shaw’s reputation for being a pound the paint, defense-first voice, having more big men than they know what to do with may not be such a bad thing.
The one person I really don’t see them trading is Ty Lawson, who is under contract for another 3 years, $37M, but the best thing the Nuggets have going for themselves right now is that they have options. If they’re able to get all their guys healthy, they do have a decent core in Lawson, Wilson Chandler, Gallinari, Faried, Hickson, McGee, and others. However, that core likely has a limited ceiling for what they can accomplish, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see Denver actively pursuing trades on draft night and during the offseason. GM Tim Connelly has admitted to having many conversations around the league involving potential trades.
The Nuggets own the no. 11 overall pick, and provided Nate Robinson ($2.1M) and Darrell Arthur ($3.5M) pick up their player options, they’ll have seven players whose contract continuation is in the hands of the team owner (Arthur, Robinson, Anthony Randolph, Evan Fournier, Timofey Mozgov, Kenneth Faried and Quincy Miller).
Javale McGee (stress fracture in foot) and JJ Hickson (torn ACL) are unlikely to be dealt due to their injuries, but in the center-slim NBA it is possible teams will be looking to acquire McGee, Hickson or even Mozgov. Chad Ford recently reported that the Bulls, who are looking to add shooting, have offered the Nuggets the No. 16 and No. 19 picks in exchange for the No. 11 pick. However, Ford has also reported that Denver was “wowed” by Gary Harris in his recent workout with the team, so it’s possible the Nuggets would select him if he’s still available once they’re on the clock.
Regardless of what Denver does in the draft, the uncertainty surrounding the Nuggets’ next move is amping up the anticipation leading up to draft night and free agency.
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