Denver Nuggets Sign Chris Andersen and Dahntay Jones

Just when I thought I would get through my vacation without missing much of anything other than a couple of summer league games the Nuggets grew active.

Thanks to JLucas4092 and joshhopp for putting up the FanPosts on the Chris Andersen signing, the Dahntay Jones signing and the Renaldo Balkman trade.  Here are my thoughts about the signings of Andersen and Jones.

Chris Andersen Signing

Chris Andersen was a crowd favorite after becoming the first player ever called up from the NBA Developmental League to the NBA (if my memory serves me correctly).  His enthusiastic play and flamboyant appearance won Nuggets fans over.  However, he is best known for his performance in the 2005 dunk contest where he undoubtedly set a record for most screen time for a player to be eliminated in the first round and for his suspension from basketball for drug abuse.

After he was reinstated last season New Orleans exercised their right to sign him to a contract for a portion of what he was originally under contract for at the time of his suspension.  Anderson was available for 23 games, but played in a mere five games and only logged 34 minutes more than you or I did.

During the 2004-2005 season, his first in New Orleans, he played a career high 21.3 minutes and had a very good PER of 18.54.  Can you say, “Career year?”  I certainly can.

Some Nuggets fans are excited about the return of Andersen.  Bringing him on board is a nice gamble for a minimum salary, but expecting Andersen to bring anything more to the Nuggets than front court depth is pollyannaish.  Andersen was a nice surprise during his first tour of duty in Denver because he was acquired for nothing and expectations could not have been lower. When he proved to be a contributor it was like driving an extra 25 miles after your gas needle hits empty before you have to fill up.

Expectations are higher this time around and some fans are lazily calling Andersen the Nuggets replacement for Marcus Camby even though filling Camby’s shoes is the last thing the Nuggets expect Andersen to do.  Most likely the Nuggets intention is to play him a few minutes a game at center so that Kenyon Martin does not have to and George Karl will (unfortunately) not feel any pressure to play Steven Hunter.

I do not expect much from Andersen, but bringing in a player like him is certainly a decent use of a minimum contract.  Should The Birdman somehow find his old groove from the 2004-2005 season he will end up being a tremendous addition.  If the Nuggets find themselves forced to play him 25 minutes a game due to injuries, or incompetence, it will be a long season. 

I would not go as far as calling it purely a PR move as JLucas4092 did in his FanPost, but it is possible that Andersen is a complete bust for his second stint as a Nugget.

Dahntay Jones Signing

I never been a fan of Dahntay Jones.  However, if the Nuggets signed Jones to fill Yakhouba Diawara’s role of watching from the pine and missing open three pointers, it is fine with me.  Jones is more athletic and is a better offensive player than Diawara is.  He is not a three point shooter, but he can take advantage of the gaps in the defense that will be there thanks to the attention that teams give Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson by using his quickness and strength to get to the rim.

Plus as weird as Dahntay is, it is easier to spell than Yakhouba Diawara.