Is Anthony Carter Going to Be a Nugget Next Season?
by Jeremy on Jul 7, 2008 5:44 PM MDT
4 comments
I am not quite sure what is going on over at
I am afraid that by resigning Carter the Nuggets will be painting themselves into a corner at the point guard spot again. Well, it sounds like the Nuggets may indeed resign Carter to a new contract.
Atkins has vowed to be the starting point guard for the Nuggets next season and all I have to say about that is I have vowed to be the starting quarterback for the Broncos next season. Hopefully for the fans of both franchises I we will both end up being absolutely wrong. The team may think they can include Atkins in a deal for a starting caliber point guard, but that is being pretty presumptuous.
In my mind there are only two sane reasons why the Nuggets would have offered Carter the one year league minimum contract. One, they were convinced that he would not accept it because he has been claiming he wanted to sign a multi year deal. The offer was only intended as a favor to his agent, Bill Duffy, who represents a nice cross section of talent in the NBA including one Carmelo Anthony.
The other possibility is they are signing a quality veteran to the league minimum to be a back up point guard. Perhaps the Nuggets have decided that their upgrade at the point will be handled in house by sliding Allen Iverson over and inserting J.R. Smith into the lineup as the starting shooting guard. That backcourt would be a much better match defensively and would be an even bigger handful on the offensive end.
A third option would be counting on a trade for a starting for a point and as I mentioned, that could be a shaky prospect. If the other teams know you are desperate to trade for a player, they can take advantage of it and force you into a situation where you have to overpay to complete the transaction.
If AI is going to be on the roster next season honestly the best spot for him probably is point guard. He can push the pace, he is a capable passer, he will be forced to pass to trigger some form of offense and as pointed out above, his lawn gnome-esque size will be much less of a detriment when paired with a bigger two guard such as J.R.
The bottom line is with the news of the possible resigning of Carter the Nuggets may or may not have a plan and I may or may not like it.
Good thing we have another three months to figure everything out.
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AC, Chucky, Taurean, and the field
As I’ve said here before, I’m not a fan of Carter. The guy filled a need, but he is not a starter. The only way I see him being retained is if the Nuggets can ship Atkins out for a starter, which I think would be unlikely.
Speaking of Atkins, he’s coming off of a down season (or several down seasons I suppose), but the guy has held teams together in the past. I think the Nuggets would be better off holding onto just him and Green rather than making a desperate move that hurts their cap situation.
I think Green has a future as a very solid back-up, possibly more. I was always impressed by him at Florida for whatever reason.
As for the field, it is shallow. I’m a Kings fan (I live in Colorado so I tend to follow the Nuggs as well), so we’ve reviewed the potential PGs out there at great length. We ended up committing to Beno Udrih for 5 years at the MLE, but we looked at everyone else. Let me say, it’s slim pickings. Next year’s draft is projected to have a plethora of good PG prospects, so I think the Nuggets would be better off waiting it out.
"Matt Lauer, up on NBC. You look like a girl, don't talk to me" -Ron Artest
by Exhibit G on Jul 8, 2008 2:34 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Statswise....
AC had a damn good season last year. It seems like there are a lot of people who are against him because he’s not a starting point guard. I don’t think anyone would argue that, including AC. The problem is that our idiot coach made him a starting PG. To keep a guy who plays D, works hard and doesn’t cause problems for the league minimum, it’s a no-brainer in my opinion.
I’m also a firm believer that every team should have 3 PGs though. Hell, I’d be fine with having four if Cassell wanted to come here. Just because Atkins is on the roster doesn’t mean he has to play.
The artist formerly known as Nuggets4.
by JLucas4092 on Jul 8, 2008 4:21 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Idiot Coach?
I’m pretty sure the plan last season was to have Carter coming off the bench. Injuries and the team circumstances necessesitated that Carter step in and fill a void.
"Matt Lauer, up on NBC. You look like a girl, don't talk to me" -Ron Artest
by Exhibit G on Jul 9, 2008 8:35 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like AC
He is indeed a bargain at the league minimum. He is a tremendous asset when the Nuggets are running and I have talked about how he is probably the best in the league at passing ahead to a streaking teammate and dropping the ball right over the defender’s fingertips. On the other hand, he is a liability in the half court offense and as long as Atkins and Carter are the point guard duo the Nuggets are going to have serious problems on both ends of the floor.
The real mistake was made by the front office when they brought Atkins in.
At this point I think the only way for this team to make any headway is to shift AI to the point and have Carter play 10-20 minutes a game in the back up role we all know he is best suited for. Unless they have some nice trade they are sitting on and that trade does not involve Kirk Hinrich.
by Jeremy on Jul 9, 2008 9:10 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
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