[UPDATED] Did the Nuggets just improve their arrest-per-player ratio?...

by Andrew Feinstein on Oct 3, 2008 8:21 AM MDT

According to the New York Post's Peter Vecsey, the Denver Nuggets have shipped out Steven Hunter and the oft-injured Chucky Atkins to the Indiana Pacers for the oft-injured, oft-troubled Jamaal Tinsley. As of this posting, I'm not seeing anything on either of the Denver newspaper sites, and the Indianapolis Star is reporting that the trade has not happened. But NBA.com and ESPN are running with the news.

Before getting too worked up about this possible trade, keep in mind that Vecsey is wrong half the time and GMs feed him false information knowing he'll publish it (I learned this when I interned at Turner Sports, so I'm not making that up).

We do, however, know that the Pacers are desperate to shed the remainder of Tinsley's contract (he will make $7.5 million in 2010/11) and the Nuggets could certainly use a pass-first point guard...and, of course, another player with a long resume of run-ins with the law.

I'll have to do some research later, but with Tinsley on board, I believe the Nuggets would average the most arrests-per-player in the league.

I'm all for securing a pure point guard who's over six feet tall. But Tinsley is an undisciplined, lazy, overweight troublemaker whose 39.5 career shooting percentage almost makes Atkins look like a marksman. In other words, he'd be perfect for the Nuggets in the Mark Warkentien Era. Just perfect.

And when he's 33 years old, the Nuggets would be paying Tinsley $7.5 million while shelling out $16.5 to Kenyon Martin. If this deal goes down, you can kiss that future cap flexibility goodbye.

[UPDATED] The Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson is reporting that the Nuggets have shot down this trade and Wark is calling the rumored deal "erroneous." Not surprisingly, it looks like Vecsey has been duped again.

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Regarding the updated link to the Rocky Mountain News article refuting the Tinsley deal... welcome back Juwan Howard! (Cough)

by rauf is on fire on Oct 3, 2008 10:14 AM MDT reply actions

The Juwan Howard signing is a good move. It's a minimum non-guaranteed contract so they can let him go any time. He was a good citizen when he was here and may be a valuable presence in the locker room and worth his contract for that alone. I don't expect much from him on the court, but the price is right.

by Anonymous on Oct 3, 2008 11:36 AM MDT reply actions

Great title to the post, first of all. But, really this is just getting sadly more depressing by the signing with the Nuggets. I mean they really do target only players who are convicts just like the "JailBlazers" era don't they? It is just amazing. I have never seen anything like it. As for the actual trade, it seems like it is not going to happen and I am glad A) if JR ends up starting, but B) dissapointed if AC ends up starting and this doesn't go through. Tinsley is reportedly in really good shape and ready to play and if that's the case then this trade would have been a steal because when healthy Tinsley can be a really great player at times.

by Goldennugget on Oct 3, 2008 1:22 PM MDT reply actions

I would take Tinsley in that deal any day. Tinsley has the ability to light it up occasionally, always has the ability to penetrate into the heart of the defense, and is a good passer. Is Atkins doing that for us? No.

If you're holding your breath for a good PG who can pass, play D, and shoot the ball accurately, then keep waiting. There is no way the Nugs are able to pull off a deal like that, because there are something like 4 of those in existence, and they're all locked up. It's time to be realistic about what kind of players we can really get.

As far as the off the court incidents...Yeah that sucks. He would probably be a terrible addition to our team as far as that goes.

by Robin Z on Oct 3, 2008 3:50 PM MDT reply actions

I believe the best low risk chance would be to sign Livingston. Broken leg or not he's 6"7 and a past first point guard. I mean if the Celtics can take a chance on Darius Miles, why can't we take a chance on Livingston?

by Anonymous on Oct 3, 2008 9:46 PM MDT reply actions

Livingston just signed a two-year deal with the Heat.

by rauf is on fire on Oct 3, 2008 11:47 PM MDT reply actions

on court, you'd be crazy not to want tinsley for hunter and atkins.

tinsley has a much more better passing game than atkins. and hunter i sitting on the bench anyway and juwan howard can play his garbage time for him.

by andrew fisher on Oct 4, 2008 12:07 AM MDT reply actions

On court Tinsley is worth a trade, but off court, you've got to be kidding me. You have no idea how many times he's been on Indy newstations or newspapers. Plus, putting him in a locker room with Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, and JR Smith would have to cause some type of disaster.

by Nataly on Oct 4, 2008 4:50 AM MDT reply actions

we might have to worry about the Nuggets pulling guns out of their jock straps with tinsley added to the team, but he could give us 8 assists per night... that alone is worth $7 million dollars per year, much cheaper than we could get most point guards that produce that much. With all the offense the Nuggets have already, Tinsley doesn't really need to ever shoot the basketball. I think it would be a good pick up, at least for the short term. By 2011, Martin's, Nene's, and Tinsley's contracts would all be up, so assuming the Nuggets don't give AI a max or something stupid like that, we should be fine looking into the long term future.

by Anonymous on Oct 4, 2008 11:13 AM MDT reply actions

Tinsley is not worth f*** up our cap space one more year.

Please don't make that deal and mortgage our future even worse.

by Catalan on Oct 4, 2008 3:10 PM MDT reply actions

Who the hell is running this strategy, Secretary Paulson?
What's the fricken' PLAN here- if there is one? How many more "head cases" who don't play defense, do you need on this team?
Fact is, it's quite simple- IF THE NUGGETS DON'T PLAY DEFENSE, THEY WON"T WIN!!!! Period.

by kaisersoze on Oct 4, 2008 6:55 PM MDT reply actions

What our team needs is discipline, and less selfishness on both sides of the court.

by Anonymous on Oct 4, 2008 8:45 PM MDT reply actions

NBA TV said the deal is done. Not sure if it's 100% true but I'd rely on NBA TV any day over the New York Post's Peter Vecsey.

by goldennugget on Oct 5, 2008 1:06 AM MDT reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

STIFF LIST (as of 4/26 by Andrew Feinstein)

1. METTA WORLD PEACE

Metta resorted back to Ron Ron last Sunday by clubbing James Hardenwith an "inadvertent celebratory elbow", landing him a 7-game suspension. Apparently, changing his name didn't prevent NBA commissioner David Stern from overlooking Metta's past behavior problems.

2. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

The 'Cats are on the verge of securing the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Given that the guy who runs the team - Michael Jordan - had previously drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison, should this really be a shock?

3. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The team that was supposedly built to overcome the lockout-shortened season managed to lose 7 of its last 14 games, ceding the Western Conference's 1-seed to the Spurs in the process. Their reward might be a first round matchup with defending champion Dallas.

4. BILLY HUNTER AND DEREK FISHER

With report after report coming out about NBPA union head Hunter's shady, nepotistic dealings and questions arising about Fisher's own role in dealing with NBA owners behind Hunter's back during the lockout, this off-the-court scandal could prove to be more exciting than the playoffs themselves!

5. STEVE NASH AND THE PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns are on this list for squandering the last few great seasons from Nash. Nash is on this list for his stupidly stubborn loyalty to a franchise as awful as the Suns.