The case of the missing two-guard solved?...

by Andrew Feinstein on Jul 10, 2009 1:29 PM MDT Comment 26 comments

The Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman is reporting that the Nuggets are working on a deal with their exclusive trading partner, the Pistons, for backup two-guard Arron Afflalo. Like Jones and the numerous second-tier "shooting" guards that passed through Denver over the years, Afflalo has a very unconventional (read: bad form) jump shot but has a lot of upside. He's not the athlete Jones is/was but, like Jones, he's 6'5", weighs 215 pounds and Afflalo even put up the same numbers as Jones in less playing time.

The Nuggets need at two-guard in Jones' absence isn't all about the numbers, of course, and the knock on Afflalo has been his defense. Or lack of it. But Jones had the same rap before the Nuggets coaching staff coaxed him into a solid defender, and maybe they could replicate that success with Afflalo, too. We'll analyze a possible Afflalo acquisition in further detail if/when this actually happens.

On a side note, our hopes of Channing Frye wearing a powder blue and gold jersey next season have been officially dashed. The Phoenix Suns have signed two of the Nuggets offseason targets: Frye and Grant Hill.

Depending on what the Nuggets give up, I'd be in favor of an Afflalo acquisition. He's cheap, young, has big upside, etc. But this isn't the "big move" we're all hoping for.

Stay tuned...

0 recs | Comment 26 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

its a start and i like it...now we need to trade for shane battier and david lee and we're right back in the conversation of the 2010 nba finals

by Anonymous on Jul 10, 2009 1:58 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm guessing we'll take on Walter Sharpe in the deal, too?

Great, I can't wait to watch these fools shoot lights out at the Pepsi Center...

...as in, the ball caromes off the rim so bad it actually flies up and breaks a light in the Can.

Forgive me if I'm a bit underwhelmed.

by MJKeenan on Jul 10, 2009 1:59 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

FYI - the Vegas summer league games have started and the video feed is about 500 times better than last year and now they have play-by-play announcers, too. The bad news is that now you have to pay $15 for the feed, but the good news is that it covers you for all 55 games.

by Brian on Jul 10, 2009 2:05 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I think the knock on Afflalo's defense is misplaced. Since college he has praised for his defense.

See e.g.:

Afflalo's defense shuts down Arizon'a leading scorer:

http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/012007aaa.html

"LAS VEGAS – The Pistons were thrilled with Arron Afflalo’s rookie season long before he confided to Joe Dumars somewhere in the middle of the interminable 82 games that he’d be a lot better defender in his second season once he catalogued everyone’s offensive arsenal.

The Pistons aren’t quite sure how that can happen – they already think Afflalo is an elite perimeter defender – but they’ll take him at his word. Because if the UCLA product proved anything in his first year, it’s that he’ll outwork any deficiency, real or perceived."

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/afflalo_080711.html

Some Pistons fans have also said that he is quite the gym rat, so he has a good work ethic as well.

by Bryan on Jul 10, 2009 3:22 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I hope this is true. We havn't been able to land a good FA yet. I have heard that Afflalo is actually a good defender though. Either way Andrew is right, we will probably turn him into a defender. If this means less time for Weems I might be bummed out though.

by Goldennugget on Jul 10, 2009 5:37 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Good post Andrew,

I have never heard of this guy. Then again I had never heard of D Jones either. Well the good news is the front office is working on some free agents. This has been one of the most interesting off seasons. Hope it goes in the nuggets favor.
Go Nuggets!!

by Agent Fisher on Jul 10, 2009 8:05 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Afflalo is not a Free Agent, so who/how do you trade to get him? Would it need to involve a 3rd team? Looks like he's a good value at $1MM.

by My3Cents on Jul 10, 2009 9:30 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

The more I read about him, the more I like.

Seriously, his defensive stats are off the charts good.
He gave up 41.2% EFG, and 13.6 PER to opponents.

comparing it to other players:
Dahntay Jones - 58% EFG, 19 PER (LOL that's atrocious)
Kobe - 50.3% EFG, 14.1 PER
Raja Bell - 53.5% EFG, 15.8 PER
Artest - 45.9% EFG, 12.3 PER
Wade - 48.7% EFG, 15.4 PER
Bowen - 40.2% EFG, 13.9 PER

if anything, Affalo is part of the elite lockdown defenders, and can also hit open shots. Would be a huge steal if we can get him for the TE + 2nd round draft pick.

by sex on Jul 10, 2009 9:37 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Goldennugget,or anyone,
Why do we need another two guard when JR is starting and Weems is suppose to come off the bench.
Like Alex said that's taking away $'s that could be used to get a CENTER.

by samiam on Jul 10, 2009 10:28 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Sam, for 1 mil (or the vets min) Afflalo is about one of the best players you are going to get for that price. I guess we are talking about taking on Walter Sharpe's 700,000 contract as part of the deal as well. Sharpe probably wouldn't be used, but I am sure Afflalo would. So basically I think Nuggets management is looking at this scenario thinking they are going to get 2 young players for under 2 million dollars, one of which they will use, the other just to fill a roster spot. Obviously we must trade in order for this to go down but I can't figure out who we would trade. Hunter? Kleiza? I don't know. But what I do know is that this trade would leave us with a bit more cap space and 2 young players. It definatly looks good from here. I would picture us going after a big man after this deal gets done.

by Goldennugget on Jul 10, 2009 11:21 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess looking at both teams salaries, this would leave the Nugs with one more player on the roster, but with less money spent.

by Goldennugget on Jul 10, 2009 11:23 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks GN,
All this talent with a coach who's out of touch and behind the times.
Like you said, with the talent we have it's a shame we are short changed @ the Coaching position.
BTW is it Nov yet?lol

by samiam on Jul 10, 2009 11:31 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess the other thing I forgot is that we could use one of our exceptions. The Denver Post article sounds like Detroit just wants more cap relief, so if that is the case I am sure we could use some of the exceptions we have.

by Goldennugget on Jul 10, 2009 11:31 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Sam, not November but Summer League is a good appetizer :) I'm looking for Weems to come up big.

by Goldennugget on Jul 10, 2009 11:33 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Weems was awesome in the DL last year. They showed him on NBADL and the coaches had nothing but love for the guy. In fact they were wondering why it was taking the Nuggets so long in calling him back.
GK went and saw the guy and dis him just like he did JR.
Weems should have played last year. I posted that. But as long as the ignoramous is in charge Weems and TL are going to go through hell.
I hope JR can help them the head games GK is going to take them through.

by samiam on Jul 10, 2009 11:53 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Once he gets out of jail he will have stories to tell and one of those stories will be about GK screwing over him and how he over came it.

by samiam on Jul 10, 2009 11:58 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

kenyon martin and kleiza for amare...make it happen...get afflalo hes les athletic than jone sbut is a way better shooter and just as good a defender

by Anonymous on Jul 11, 2009 8:27 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Sign and trade Kleiza for Lamar Odom sounds good to me. Use the trade exeption for the salary. Weaken the Laker frontcourt while strengthening ours. Use the other exeption for Afflalo. Its ok, Stan can afford it.

C- Nene, Birdman
PF- KMart, Lamar Odom
SF- Melo, Balkman
SG- JR, Afflalo, Weems
PG- Chauncey, Lawson

We could do a lot worse.

by go nugs on Jul 11, 2009 4:14 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Hey guys kind of new on this website, but i talk with Travis Heath a lot on Hoopsworld and I talk a lot on ESPN Nugget forums. So what is the scoop with Denver and Odom? From reports i have read it sounds like Affalo is close to being a Nugget, but if we could land LO too... WOW. Anyone want to speed me up with the Odom talks?

by Anonymous on Jul 11, 2009 4:29 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

by Garrett on Jul 11, 2009 4:30 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Someone threw Odom out there on the chat. We shouldnt get our hopes up too much here, but this is my understanding of how it could get done.
Odoms a free agent. The lakers are not close to re signing him because he wants 10 mil. The only way we pry him away is sign and trade (trade exeption) because we dont have the cap room otherwise. We might have to offer the Lakers something in return (Kleiza? he always plays well against them so they might like him).
Its all rumours at this point. But the Lakers are way over the cap at the moment.

by go nugs on Jul 11, 2009 4:53 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Yea but i am pretty sure you can't trade a player plus the TEP all in one deal. LK would have to go to LA in a seperate deal. At least i am pretty sure, i may be wrong though. Did someone really hear that Wark is meeting with LO though?

by Garrett on Jul 11, 2009 5:32 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Garrett, I didn't hear it first hand but some guy on the ESPN forums said he heard on the Fan that Wark was talking to Odom. I don't know if it's bs or what, but thats what I heard. I really don't know why we would go after Odom, but I definatly wouldn't mind having him.

by Goldennugget on Jul 11, 2009 7:43 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

It was probably Sandy Kluff spitting out a bunch of non-sense and just adding on to his moronic predictions and opinions on Denver sports. I don't see LO to Denver happening very easy. I honestly don't know hoe Denver could get any big man cuz no one is really out there. The only few that ring any bells are Kamen (not-likely after Randolph was traded), Gasol (Memphis would have to be brain dead... oh wait they already are), or Foster (i think we could get him... but really =/) SO i don't know. I guess we will wait and see. I want this Affalo deal to be done.

by Garrett on Jul 12, 2009 12:22 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I have to agree with Bryan. When he did play, he showed flashes of a great defender (not much of a shooter though). Afflalo never got the minutes he deserved. All Piston fans ever heard about was how he was consistently the 1st and last man in the gym.
If Joe keeps trading my favorite Pistons to Denver, I'm changing my fav. NBA team to Detroit Pistons West.

by Justin on Jul 13, 2009 1:13 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure what the obsession with Weems is but there was another guy once who dominated NBA summer league play (I think he was the leading scorer) who never did anything in the NBA...his name was Nikoloz Tskitishvili.

Add to the fact that NBA Dleague stats seem to be inflated (a 56% shooter is probably a 51% shooter), seems to add up to the fact that he's not that efficient of a player on offense and that his defense isn't there...

by chantech on Jul 13, 2009 2:32 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed

Search

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Grading Wark

by asdqqq 7 days ago

46 comments | 6 recs

George Karl to coach West All Stars

by runningdonut 11 days ago

37 comments | 4 recs

Billups not on All-Star team

by AGAINST_DA_LAW-SON 11 days ago

86 comments | 5 recs

Recent FanPosts

You and me both, Kenyon. You and me both.

by NuggBuckets about 10 hours ago

6 comments | 0 recs

Bulls Dont Want Tyrus Thomas...

by hvino about 14 hours ago

10 comments | 0 recs

Throwback

by bri ki ki ki bridman about 18 hours ago

9 comments | 0 recs

D-Will Almost a Nugget????

by hvino 1 day ago

11 comments | 0 recs

Bk_aahx089_8x10_alex-english-posters_small

Carmelo Anthony's On-court/Off-court stats

by LACK 2 days ago

9 comments | 0 recs

My personal hero

by bri ki ki ki bridman 2 days ago

10 comments | 0 recs

Which NBA Team Has the Best Center-Power Forward Rotation in the League?

by ACEIII 2 days ago

15 comments | 0 recs

Abdul-Rauf Q&A on Hoopshype

by Nate Timmons 4 days ago

7 comments | 0 recs

Melo won't play against the Lakers on Friday?

by InboundingLobPass 4 days ago

30 comments | 0 recs

Melo may skip All-Star game if ankle isn't right

by Nate Timmons 4 days ago

16 comments | 0 recs

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

THE STIFF LIST (as of 2/7 by Andrew)

STIFF #1: THE FUTURE OF THE NBPA
If the NBA owners opening proposal for the new collective bargaining agreement is any indication, we're heading for a lockout in 2011 and after that, smaller contracts, smaller salaries and less revenue shared with the players.

STIFF #2: THE CLIPPERS
After correctly kicking Mike Dunleavy upstairs and rightly installing Kim Hughes as head coach, why are rumors of Isiah Thomas joining the Clips circling around already?

STIFF #3: THE EASTERN CONFERENCE
Rumors of the re-birth of the Eastern Conference have been greatly exaggerated. Yes, the Cavaliers are awesome but the sixth playoff seed might be sub-.500. And do you think any of the West's top six teams fear the Celtics, Magic or Hawks? No chance.

STIFF #4: ANKLE INJURIES
First Carmelo Anthony. Then Chauncey Billups. And now possibly Arron Afflalo? Tape those ankles up, dammit!

STIFF #5: NEW JERSEY NETS
4-46 and losers to the lowly Pistons on Saturday night. But Lawrence Frank was the problem, right?

Denver Stiffs: An SB Nation Community

Network Bar

Denver Stiffs -