ESPN "experts" project the Western Conference - Nuggets 10th
Even with the Marcus Camby trade and a midseason Allen Iverson trade that I firmly believe is on the horizon I think projecting the Nuggets to only win 39 games is preposterous. Considering that 39 wins is an average of prognostications from 25 participants that means some of the individuals ESPN.com refers to as experts picked well below 39 wins for the Nuggets next season. The Nuggets will certainly fall short of last season's win total, but I will be shocked if they win fewer than 42-44 games and if they can stay healthy (Nene) they will do even better than that. Basically this says that Marcus Camby is worth 11 wins and in my opinion anyone who thinks that is absolutely crazy.
over 3 years ago
Jeremy
7 comments
0 recs |
Comments
I think they probably know what they are talking about
Plus Hoopsworld called the Camby donation the worst trade of the NBA offseason:
“Worst Trade: Denver Nuggets
No need to let Denver slide, we have to stay right here. (Unfortunately for the Nuggets, Isiah Thomas has been fired and won’t be able to one-up them by making one of his patented, boneheaded trades). What kid of message is Denver management sending to their fans when a team that obviously struggles defensively, donates its best defender to a conference rival; against whom they could potentially be competing for a playoff birth. And what cracks me up is the whole "option to exchange second-round picks” part. You think Clippers GM Elgin Baylor would have considered it a deal breaker if the Nuggets demanded an actual second-round pick, without the right to swap, in exchange for a guy that averaged 13 rebounds and 3.6 blocks last season, and took home the 2006-2007 Defensive Player of the Year award? C’mon…"
That last bit is spot on. Seriously, just what they hell were they thinking letting Baylor off like that? For God’s sake, if you are losing your BEST BIG MAN, get a draft pick out of it!!!
I have a serious problem with analysis like that
It completely disregards the real asset the Nuggets acquired in the Camby trade and that is the $10 million trade exception. Plsu no one other than me has mentioned the correlation between the Camby deal and the Kurt Thomas trade from last offseason where Phoenix had to give up two first round picks to Seattle in order to dump his $8 million salary. Another thing to keep in mind Thomas’ contract only had one year left, not two like Camby’s.
The more time that passes the more I like the Camby trade. Even if they just let the trade exception expire they were able to dump a two year contract for $10 million per season and actually get a chance to move up in the second round instead of giving anything up like Phoenix had to.
just answer this...
“You think Clippers GM Elgin Baylor would have considered it a deal breaker if the Nuggets demanded an actual second-round pick…?” The answer has GOT to be no. You are talking like Marcus Camby was not an asset at all and that it was nothing but a welcome relief to be rid of his contract. You’re basically saying that we lost nothing in the trade and got $10m out of thin air. Let’s say that the ESPN analysts overestimated Camby’s value by 100% (which is generous). Even then, that’s 5 wins he has produced for us, on top of the fact he is a top class citizen. The man is a basketball asset. We may have needed the cap space, maybe even really badly. But Nuggets HQ could EASILY have gone about this in a way that benifted the club more. A guarenteed 2nd round draft pick for goodness sakes. Those things are handed out like peanuts by ball clubs.
You are probably right
The Clippers may have done the deal for a guaranteed 2nd round pick, but in reality the Clippers held most of the leverage. If the Nuggets said no LA still had all that cap room to go find another team to deal with. If the Clippers said no to the Nuggets then there was no where else for the Nuggets to go as the only other team with cap space is Memphis and they are not looking to add a player in his mid 30’s at $10 million a season.
My point remains that whether or not the Nuggets swap second rounders, get one outright, or even landed a late first rounder, what will make or break this trade is what they do with the trade exception.
Without Giving Too Much Away
I know for a fact that the Nuggets had to beg for the Clippers to do this deal. Camby’s trade value isn’t as high around the league as it is with the media.
The artist formerly known as Nuggets4.
So these people
Think Camby more or less was responsible for 11 wins? Absurd
by broncfanstuckinsd on Aug 30, 2008 6:19 PM MDT reply actions
you'll forgive me if i find that a little hard to believe
you’re saying that the clipper said “no we dont want him” and the nuggets said “oh please take him, we’ll be your bestest buddies”, and baylor said “aww, OK then” ?













