The moment any fans' favorite team finds themselves out of the playoffs the big question is who don't we have on the team that needs to be? Most of the time those questions pertain to players on the court getting touches in important games. In this case when the question is ask I think at least part of the answer could be someone who wouldn't ever touch the ball during a game. Gary Payton.  There haven't been too many players whose nicknames eschew defensive excellence. Gary "The Glove" Payton was surely a top notch defender in the league and now that he has been out of the game for while he says he's ready to come back to the game in a coaching capacity. 

 

Stop the Bulls, Stop The Lakers... Whats the difference right?

Payton's record pretty much speaks for itself and one doesn't have to do too much digging to see why he might be able to instill a defensive mindset on our already offensively able Nuggets. 

 

• NBA Champion (2006)
• NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1996)
• 9x NBA All-Star (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)
• 9x All-NBA Team (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002)

• 9x NBA All-Defensive Team (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)

• NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1990)
• Only player in NBA history to accumulate 20,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 8,000 assists and 2,000 steals in a career

 

If Gary Payton was willing to join the coaching staff and help our team develop a defensive strategy to get to the finals, oh and teach Ty that sweet spin move, then I think we'd be a lot better off. So I've started a Petition to get the ball rolling, and if you think Payton, who has a history working with George Karl already, would be a good guy to bring on board and help the team D-Up then click on over to the Petition and Sign it.