Renaldo Balkman is a Denver Nugget
The Nuggets remained active today as they have acquired former New York Knickerbocker Renaldo Balkman and cash in exchange for Taurean Green, Bobby Jones and a 2010 second round pick. This deal is interesting in a couple of ways.
Let me start off by saying this was a very good trade for the Nuggets. Not only did they acquire the best player in the deal, they also receive the ever popular “cash considerations.”
As JLucas4092 pointed out in his FanPost, Balkman is a tremendous “replacement” for Eddie Najera. He does not have the wide posterior that Najera has and is not the shooter that Najera is, but he is the same type of energy player who will get on the floor and scrap with anyone.
He does not have the girth to D up the Tim Duncan’s of the world and is more of a small forward than a power forward, but he brings heart and hustle to a team that is in desperate need of those things. He is a good rebounder, has deceptively good ball handling abilities and moves very well on the court.
The Nuggets seem to be loading up on role players who will play from 10 to 20 minutes a game. Chucky Atkins, Anthony Carter, Sonny Weems, Dahntay Jones, Chris Andersen, Steven Hunter and now Renaldo Balkman are all limited players who you want playing limited minutes. On the other hand what I like about this group is they are all active players who are not in the league because of their offense (other than Atkins). All seven of these guys will come into the game and know they can lay it all on the line because they are only going to be on the court for a few minutes at a time.
Not only are the Nuggets more athletic and more defensive oriented, but they are more flexible. Every player on that list other than the point guards can play more than one position.
The other interesting aspect of this deal is that the Nuggets are the team adding salary. The Knicks pulled the trigger to acquire two non guaranteed contracts. The cheap thing to do if the Nuggets wanted to keep costs down would have been to pick up the measly contracts of Bobby Jones and Taurean Green. In addition to Balkman’s higher salary the Nuggets will have to bring in another player to fill the extra roster spot they just opened up. Of course those cash considerations will probably make the deal a financial wash if not a financial plus for the Nuggets, but the fact remains that they just committed themselves to paying more salary than they had to.
As far as the two players that the Nuggets are shipping out, Taurean Green was pretty disappointing in summer league. He was given every chance to shine and completely failed to do so. I have been on record as an admirer of Bobby Jones as a player who has the potential to become a nice role player. However, Balkman is already a solid role player. And what the heck, when the Knicks waive Jones what is there to keep the Nuggets from bringing him back for a third engagement?
I can understand how people were upset with the Marcus Camby trade, but with this transaction, I fail to see how anyone could find this trade to be a bad deal for the Nuggets.
Make sure you check out the superlative Knicks blog Posting and Toasting for some Knick centric blogging on the trade.
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8 comments
Comments
Balkman
I don’t think you’re going to be disappointed with Balkman. He’s limited on the offensive end in terms of a jumpshot, but moves well without the ball and can finish around the hoop. He’s good in transition, often grabbing a rebound and driving up the floor leading the break. And he’s very good on the defensive end. He can block shots, man up, and play the passing lanes. Renaldo has great length & good leaping ability. He has a little swagger on the defensive end as well, and he’ll go diving for balls.
His biggest weaknesses are lack of any shot/scoring ability outside the paint. He doesn’t even drive well although he has all the components to do so (handle, quickness, finishing ability). Also his lack of free throws just kills him at times – since his offensive game is around the hoop. Also there’s rumors that he’s not exactly a coaches player off the court, but then again look at who his last coach was.
But ultimately with two big scorers (Melo & AI) & the loss of Camby, Balkman will complement your team well. Just sick him on the opposing scorer, watch him initiate a fast break and enjoy the show.
by KnickerBlogger on Jul 29, 2008 9:09 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Knickerblogger
First off, love your site. I’ve been a reader for a while, so it’s great to see you here.
I just finished reading your old article on Balkman and got really excited. Even more interesting was seeing who you guys were playing that night….
I have that game on DVD, I’ll have to bust it out tonight.
The artist formerly known as Nuggets4.
by JLucas4092 on Jul 29, 2008 3:39 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Humpty
As he’s affectionately known on the Knicks blog, is quickly becoming my favorite Nug. First off, he decked Vujacic. That gets him bonus points right off of the bat. Secondly, he sounds like he’s Ryan Bowen with talent.
This gives us a lot of flexibility. If you look at our roster, here’s how it’s currently constructed:
- Carter / Atkins
- AI / JR / Dahntay / Weems
- Melo / LK / Humpty
- KMart
- Nene / Hunter / Birdman
That’s the league mandated 13 minimum. I’d love, love love love LOVE to bring in Elton Brown and Chris Lofton from the summer league team. Also, we’re pretty overcrowded at the SF. I’m hoping that means that we’re going to go small (AND PLAY MELO AT THE 4 WHERE HE CAN DO SOME DAMAGE FOR LIMITED MINUTES) or that LK could be on the way out before training camp.
And just to plant a fun seed in your heads—Mike Miller is eligible to be traded in late August.
The artist formerly known as Nuggets4.
by JLucas4092 on Jul 29, 2008 9:16 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
BTW Jeremy
Welcome back. Hope you’re refreshed.
The artist formerly known as Nuggets4.
by JLucas4092 on Jul 29, 2008 9:28 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
If the Nuggets want Bobby Jones or Taurean Green back, they could immediately reacquire one of them. The Knicks released them both immediately following the Balkman trade.
by BeefySwats on Jul 30, 2008 12:11 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Jones and Green
There is a 30 day period following the trade where teams are not allowed to resign a player they just traded. Obviously that window will end well before training camp starts so if the Nuggets are interested, either one, or both, could be in the Mile High City by October. However, I think both would be better off heading overseas as they would (probably) make more money and (probably) get more playing time to develop their games.
by Jeremy on Jul 30, 2008 12:37 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oops, you’re right. I forgot there was the month-long restriction on resigning of a traded player.
That said, I’d gladly see Elton Brown and Bobby Jones flesh out the Nuggets roster. If (and it is a big if) Nene can stay healthy, I think we have a solid post presence. Nene, KMart, Balkman and Andersen can all play stiff d when they want to.
I’m not really concerned about our scoring threats. This is the Nuggets, after all. :P
by BeefySwats on Jul 30, 2008 1:03 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs














