Petro back with the Nuggets
by Nate Timmons on Aug 27, 2009 3:10 PM MDT
in Denver Nuggets: News and Opinion
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The search for the fourth big-man is over ... for now. The Nuggets have reached terms with center Johan Petro, according to the Denver Post. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Denver turned down Petro's $2.8 million qualifying offer back in June, so I'd expect the deal to be for less than that amount.
Once again this is an underwhelming move by the Nuggets, but Petro brings two things: youth and size.
Petro is 23 years-old and will turn 24 in January. He averaged 2.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks for the Nuggets in 27 games last season (8 minutes per game.) Petro is 7' and 250 lbs. and provides the Nuggets with a bit of an insurance policy.
The Frenchmen was a late first-round pick by the Seattle Supersonics back in 2005 (25th overall) and came over to the Nuggets in a trade for Chucky Atkins. For his career he averages 5.4 points and 4.3 rebounds.
Petro showed signs of athleticism and the ability to crash the boards in limited duty last season. But he also showed he's still an offensive liability converting on just 42.9% of his shots with Denver. He is raw and a project player and a big-guy who likes to play facing the basket without the shot. He will shoot the jumper freely although it's not part of his game.
For some reason Melo liked to feed Petro when he was on the floor. It may have been because he was so wide open, but I'm assuming after Melo let the ball go he soon regretted his decision.
If Petro hit the gym hard this offseason and can prove to be a bit-player then he could add value to this team. His biggest challenge is realizing his role is to rebound, defend the post, and block shots. I have argued all summer that the Nuggets really don't have the minutes to give to a talented big man like a Jeff Foster or Marc Gasol.
If you break down the positions as they are now ... Nene gets about 30 minutes a game (minimum), K-Mart about 30 (minimum), and Birdman about 20. There are only 96 minutes to give away at the power forward and center position and with the three guys taking up roughly 80 of those minutes ... it's going to be very hard to entice a guy, who can play, to come to Denver for the other 16 minutes that might be available (assuming the three mentioned above only play the minimal minutes I outlined.)
There could be more moves up the front office's sleeve, but now the Nuggets have 12 players under contract and we all think they will only carry the minimum 13 heading into the season ... leaving a swingman spot open for Wally World or Rashard McCants or Player X.
When will the chess game start ...
Photo Courtesy of AP Photos: David Zalubowski
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eh
He’s young and a legit 7 footer. I’m guessing they got him somewhere around the 2 mil mark so its not like he carries a big contract. If he improves on last year then this is a good signing. I’m also a diehard Tarheel fan and Mccants could work to be the spark off the bench, but I’d rather see the nugz pick up a 3 instead of another 2
enevitable.
I think as we saw this one coming as all the Bigs were getting swept up. Not the most intimidating guy coming off the bench, but i don’t have any beef w/ Petro.
Again, i just can’t imagine we will let the $9M MLE expire w/o doing something of interest. Maybe not a chess move, but at least chinese checkers…
by Boulder_Matthew on Aug 27, 2009 4:04 PM MDT reply actions
little upside
Yes Petro is a young player and will probably develop some. For that reason alone this isn’t a bad signing. However, despite being 7ft and 250lbs (listed), everytime I see him play I am struck by how short his arms are and how narrow his shoulders are. Nene may be shorter, but he is a longer player. Petro doesn’t have much wingspan and that will hurt him. So even though he is a true seven footer he won’t have the impact that many other quality big men have just because of their extra arm length.
Meh
With Pops gone, it was either him or AG
"I shoot so many 3's because I can't shoot 4's" -Antoine Walker
The one thing that really hurts Petro’s game is his hands. I can’t even remember how many times I’ve seen perfect passes from Billups, Melo, and JR that went right to Petro but were just too hot for him to handle.
I love his heart and hustle on the floor because you can tell he’s giving it his all but he does need a lot of work. Hopefully there’s a diamond in the rough because I really like this kid.
Can I get a few people to quote me on this?
Because I absolutely think Petro is going to be a force this year, even as a backup role.
Mark my words. Petro will contribute significantly to the Nuggets success this season, and will provide valuable backup for Nene and Birdman. He is also tall enough to play as a true C and have Nene shift to PF.
Three predictions:
1) He will eclipse all of his career highs in all stats this season.
2) He will become a valuable rotation player alongside Andersen when Nene or Kenyon goes down with an inevitable injury.
3) He will provide solid defense and be a reliable option to check other starting Cs.
Swats.
I'll remember that
But the problem is GK hates large rotations and young players for the most part. I dont’ see Petro getting that much playing time which is sad because any time you are a young 7fter you should see some time. I thought he was pretty solid in OKC but he hasn’t had a chance here. I hope he does this year thogh but again, not that likely.
by GoldenNugget on Aug 28, 2009 12:17 PM MDT up reply actions
Fire GK
You’re absolutely correct.
GK’s coaching technique has to be put in check this season. His old school techinque has to be revamped. He needs to be micro managed. You know with the suspension of JR he’s already got the weak link (AC) starting.
Petro should be given pt if for nothing else his six fouls.
do NOT fire gk
when gk was the coach at millwaukee i developed a strong hate for the guy. he ripped doc rivers because he was an nba head coach. rivers went on to win coach of the year and an nba championship. i felt gk should worry about his team and not how somebody else got a job. my opinion has evolved along with gk’s coaching. at the beginning of last season he said that for 3 seasons things were done the players way. now things were going to be done his way. along the way he has stood up to melo and kmart. his relationship with kmart at one time was alot like marshall and coach josh mcd of the broncos. kmart and gk have a positive relationship now to both their credit. denver’s coaching staff from top to bottom is one of the stongest in the nba. the head coach at ok city is a former gk assistant. when a coaching change is made many times the assistants go too. having 2 point gaurds in the game is a good move at times especially when one is billups. chaucey can conserve energy and remain in the game. going small ball at altitude and speeding up the game is a good move too. ac will not be putting major minutes in garbage time because lawson is on the team. they call it garbage time for a reason. ac played hurt for an extended period last season and i anticipate his turn overs will go down this year. as far as petro and his six fouls go the problem is he still cannot stop anybody when he does foul. that will put opponents on the free throw line for a 3 point play. his contract is for 800 thousand. at that price the expectations will not be that great all the way around.
Appropriate
GK coaching has evolved? Only in that rose colored world you live in.
Most of us know that CB was the reason that the Nuggets advanced as far as they did.
CB coming home had a positive and negative effect on the Nuggets team.
I’ve already mentioned the positive case. The negative effect is that if CB had not come to the Nuggets they would not have been so successful thus leaving your boy hanging out to dry and probably fired.
GK is good coach if he’s coaching CAVEMEN. His techinque leaves a lot to be desired in this modern age.
so easy EVEN a caveman can do it
the world i live in happens to be one of an industry insider. i worked at the pepsi center until i was laid off in the spring. i have seen what goes on behind closed doors. both gk and i will agree with you that karl would have lost his job if the billups trade did not happen. the reason for that is allen iverson would have been on the team. if you do not think so look at what happened in detroit. the pistons went to the conference finals 6 times. iverson comes to town they finish under 500, get swept in the first round of the playoffs and the head coach gets fired. gk will be the first to admit that billups was a gift from the basketball gods, he publicly thanked chauncey right to his face on tv. just goes to show you what a caveman can accomplish when people listen and cooperate. i was born and raised in chicago. got to watch jerry sloan play as a rookie AND micheal jordan play his rookie year when his hair was long and his shorts were short. i have seen players like isiah thomas, doc rivers and juwan howard play in high school. i rooted for the bulls when they beat the sonics coached by gk in the finals. for me to say gk is a good coach he is probably way better than that. i had been coached in high school by depaul head coach jerry wainwright. he is the person that developed tim duncan at wake forest. i attended the basketball camp of hall of fame coach ray meyer. watched jerry sloan, chet walker and the rest of the bulls practice at my high school under coach dick motta. i do not live in a rose colored world. my opinion of gk comes by over 40 years watching and sometimes being part of the game at every level.
Absurd
And your point is?
You gave your resume, I’m not hiring
Didn’t I read where you posted that for three years GK let the players to whatever, then in the last two years he took the reigns?
Why would you blame his failure on AI? If utlized properly AI could have worked. If you don’t have the proper spacing on the floor( which is coached) then AI has no one to pass to when he penetrates. As of this date there still isn’t proper spacing or movement of the ball on GK s team.
I’m glad that the trade transpired however in your world GK should have had a system in place and receipe for success. He had neither. He’s a has been. He’s a dinosaur. He needs his ego checked.
Sorry you lost your job.
check mate
without knowing the details his contract may not be fully gauranteed. if another player comes along the nugs can drop him without losing money. the biggest problem he has on offense is he cannot get his shot off. he still tries too shoot and becomes what the coaches call a ball stopper. his contract numbers can be used later down the line in a trade. i have read orlando is trying to bring back center adonal foyle. they already have howard and gortat. look for gortat to be moved once the season starts in a multi team trade.
hmm...
…we dont want adonal foyle. He may have a career year and we owe him an extra 1 million dollars
And we dont have anything to entice Orlando with for Gortat…who I’m still not sold on (he got that decent contract this summer!).
by GottaLoveMelo on Aug 28, 2009 6:35 AM MDT up reply actions
gortat
orlando matched his offer because they did not want to lose him without getting anything in return. chicago wants gortat. they lost ben gordon without compensation and so far have not done anything outside of the draft to improve this summer. chicago has a problem with jerome james’ contract and are seeking an injury waiver from the nba. joakim noah won 2 ncaa championships with florida and orlando likes his 2.5 million cap number vs. gortat’s 5.7 mil. what is in it for denver is aaron gray. he remains unsigned and is looking for a gauranteed 2 year deal. chicago needs another contract to go along with noah to match up with gortat. send petro to chicago for gray. chicago has 3 centers gortat, brad miller and petro. orlando has 3 centers howard, noah and adonal foyle. last season gray had 22 rebounds in a single game and was a starter for about a 10 game strech. petro’s rebounding game high was 10 against the celtics. orlando and chicago can use a 3rd team.
I don't remember Gray getting 22 rebounds
But evidently he did on 4/16/2008. But Aaron Gray is too fat and slow to run with Ty Lawson
"I shoot so many 3's because I can't shoot 4's" -Antoine Walker
This is alot of work for a simple reference...
…but 7th or 8th paragraph down…
by GottaLoveMelo on Aug 28, 2009 6:54 AM MDT up reply actions
Great
I agree with you guys, I would rather have Petro than most of what’s left in the big man bin at this point. He has a lot to work on, but he is young and a very big guy. I just hope it’s Allen getting the short end of the stick minutes-wise, and GK will try playing Petro alongside Nene for a bit, just so Nene isn’t all alone down low against the best bigs on the other team. Petro will benefit from a full training camp with the Nugs and a defined backup role. He won’t be struggling to prove he’s a starter like he was in OKC and Seattle.
Do you want Petro for 25/mins a game?
Just remember there is a pretty big likelihood that Birdman+Martin+Nene combine to miss 30-40 games over the year. A chunk of the PF minutes last year fell to Klieza, and maybe Balkman picks those up. Still expect 1/3 to 1/2 the season that a third big will not be one of the three and we will need to fill out ~25 minutes in those games, not 8-10 for the fourth big.
Petro did have some serviceble games last year, but with playoff position so important, the bench will have to step up during those injuries (and suspensions that the Nugs seem to have every year). That is when the depth matters. Johan may only average 10-14/game but I foresee 20-30 games when we could use a lot more minutes.
I think we should try to get hamed haddadi
he has a PER of like 19 is a legit 7 footer and is young
seems like a lil improvement over petro
and he is demanding a trade
Why not?
If something bad happens, this has awesome comedic potential. I just want to see a 7 footer with short arms (for a 7 footer, mind you!) rumble around the court.
All this success and winning over the last 6 years is making me yearn for the days of Priest Lauderdale!
I thought you knew that algebra was all razzamatazz. A Globetrotter always saves the good algebra for the final minutes.
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