DENVER STIFFS - Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation

Off to Comic-Con...

2008-07-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

(And no, that's not me in the picture).

I probably shouldn't be mentioning this on a sports-themed blog, but unlike Nuggets management I pride myself on being transparent and upfront with those who support me. So here it goes...

I'm taking off tomorrow for the annual San Diego Comic-Con International and it will be my - eeeek! - eighth Comic-Con in a row (if you don't know what Comic-Con is, go to YouTube).

For those of you who have followed this blog since its inception, you know that when I'm not skewering George Karl or Mark Warkentien, I actually have a real job as a syndicated cartoonist and animation producer. I go to "the Con" each year to promote my comic strip and animated shorts project "Girls & Sports," see friends and colleagues from the industry, and sign a few autographs. Very few, by the way, as the Comic-Con crowd aren't exactly into sports...or girls.

So unless big Nuggets news breaks this week, I probably won't resume consistent blogging until Sunday. I can promise you one thing in the meantime, though: I will be the only person at Comic-Con wearing a Nuggets T-shirt.

"Classless..."

2008-07-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

So said former Nuggets center Marcus Camby when discussing the way the Nuggets handled "trading" the former Defensive Player of the Year and their starting center for the past five years.

According to Camby, neither head coach George Karl (who apparently didn't know about the trade himself until someone at HoopsWorld told him during a Summer League game) or anyone from the Nuggets front office bothered to pick up the phone and inform him that he'd been shipped to the Clippers for a trade exemption. I always knew Nuggets Vice President of Whatever Mark Warkentien was classless, his own record speaks clearly to this. But if its true that Karl didn't call Camby - and for now we only have Camby's word to go on - that's a stunner. I may have issues with Karl's X's and O's, lack of initiative and myriad of other coaching-related issues, but I've never accused Karl of being classless. I leave those accusations to be made by Ray Allen.

Camby has taken some lumps on this site and elsewhere from the commenters, but as we mourn his departure let me go on record as saying I was a big Camby fan. Yeah, his jump shot sucked, he had no low-post game and he settled for those stupid flip layups when they should have been dunks. But you know what? He gave the Nuggets - like the Knicks during his tenure there - everything he had when healthy. He always took the tough charge, made the extra pass, threw the selfless alley-oop and of course, pulled down an immeasurable number of big rebounds. Frankly, on a team full of "me first" guys, Camby was exactly what the Nuggets needed at center these past few years and if you think the Nuggets would have made five straight postseasons without him, you're deluding yourself.

Under normal circumstances I'd predict Camby will come back and haunt the Nuggets. But with the Clippers being more cursed than we are, don't be surprised if Camby gets hurt and misses 20 games.

Regardless of where you come down on the Camby trade debate, I think we all agree that the man deserved a phone call from the organization. Classless, indeed.

Nuggets beat Lakers! Your summer League recap...

2008-07-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

For the first time in eight games, the Denver Nuggets finally beat the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, it was just the final Las Vegas Summer League game.

As readers here predicted, the Nuggets had a damn good team by Summer League standards, dropping only one out of the five games they played. And in three of those four victories, the Nuggets Summer Squaders handily defeated their opponents.

By our calculations at Denver Stiffs, the "real" Nuggets currently have nine players on their roster: Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Nene, Kenyon Martin, Steven Hunter, Anthony Carter, Chucky Atkins, Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith (assumed to be re-signing, especially since he's not getting interest from anyone else). And unless second round draft choice (via trade) Sonny Weems was deemed a total failure in Vegas, count him in as roster spot holder #10. Therefore, including Weems the Nuggets would have five guards, four forwards and one true center (Hunter) going into training camp. Gulp.

Historically, the Nuggets have had about 12 guys going into camp assured of a roster spot, meaning that only one or two Summer Leaguers found their way into camp. But with the Nuggets parting with starting center, former Defensive Player of the Year, former NBA Finals runner-up (on a team he carried, by the way), rebounding and blocked shot specialist, veteran anchor and the only man willing to take a charge, Marcus Camby, to the Clippers for a bag of rocks (can you tell I'm not over this trade yet?) and not re-signing hustling backup forward Eduardo Najera, don't be surprised if two or three of the Summer Squaders - excluding Weems - end up in training camp.

One of those spots should go to power forward Elton Brown (pictured above), and this shouldn't even be debatable. In five Summer League games, Brown averaged 13.4 ppg on 57.8% shooting to go along with 10.0 rpg (5.4 offensive!). The Nuggets have been thin at power forward throughout the Carmelo Anthony era (hence the atrocious trade-and-signing of Kenyon Martin), and Brown finally gives the Nuggets that third forward option they desperately need.

I have no idea who the next training camp invite should go to and frankly, having not been able to watch the games, it's not fair for me to say who's in and who's out other than Brown. But going strictly by the numbers, the first name that jumps out is going to be shooting guard Dahntay Jones who a had a terrific Summer League offensively (21.5 ppg in the games when he got real minutes). All we really know about Dahntay Jones is that he's been a bust as an NBA player thus far, but maybe he has had his humble pie and is refocused.

Having actually played for the Nuggets last season, you'd have to think point guard Taurean Green and shooting guard Bobby Jones would merit some consideration, but based on the numbers alone neither had a particularly good Summer League. In 21 minutes of playing time per game, Green mustered more turnovers (2.0) than assists (1.6). And Bobby Jones, who's always been an erratic shooter (a necessity when you're the Nuggets third string shooting guard apparently), only made 41.4% of his FG attempts.

If the Nuggets have finally soured on Green and/or Bobby Jones, the long shot pick for training camp would be shooting guard Keith Langford, whom many Denver Stiffs readers predicted would be a good Summer League player. When given playing time, Langford averaged a respectable 11.8 ppg on 61.5% shooting. But at 6'4" (and I hear he's more like 6'3"), an undersized shooting guard is the last thing the Nuggets need.

It will be interesting to see who the Nuggets bring into training camp from the Summer Squad and the NBA scrap heap. We should start taking bets now: who will be this year's Reggie Theus?

Give this man a training camp invite already...

2008-07-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

While assessing who might be the backup to Marcus Camby's replacement - presumably Nene - we didn't get a chance to discuss who will fill in at the backup power forward spot when Nene moves to starting center.

If the Nuggets bring back Chris Andersen, he'd certainly be one choice. But with the Nuggets going to "small ball," Andersen will probably play a lot of backup center minutes.

Readers of this blog know that we've been on the Elton Brown bandwagon since before the Vegas Summer League began. And even though I haven't been able to really watch a Nuggets Summer League game (thanks to NBATV and Altitude totally screwing Nuggets fans by not showing any on TV), after reviewing Brown's four game log, I'm convinced...bring this guy into training camp already!

In last night's 105-104 "victory" over the Houston Rockets summer squad, Brown had his best performance thus far: 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds (9 offensive!). I know it's Summer League and most of these guys rarely amount to much, but if the Nuggets are truly in cost cutting mode, why wouldn't they bring this guy into camp?

Oh, and Dahntay Jones continues to produce. Well, at least points-wise, anyway. In four games, he's had two assists. That's right: two! If anything, he's been consistent with his career average of a whopping 0.6 assists per game. As well as Jones is playing offensively, I'd still rather go with Brown (if I had to choose between the two).

On a side note, if you happened to miss this SI.com story about George Karl and potential Nuggets Interim Head Coach Hall of Fame inductee Nick Van Exel, it's kind of funny and worth a quick read (way down at the bottom of the page).

Have a great weekend everyone!

Camby's replacement: Who would you rather have?...

2008-07-18T00:52:00.000-07:00

Until proven otherwise, I'm standing by my statement that the Marcus Camby "trade" was just a salary dump, and that no larger plan is in the works. But just like getting abruptly dumped by your girlfriend (not that I would know what that's like), there's nothing you can do. Sometimes you have to just forget about it quickly and move on. Regardless of how much we complain, Camby is never coming back, nor is the first round draft choice, the young point guard, or whatever else the Nuggets should have received in the trade.

So let's put the Camby "trade" debacle behind us - at least briefly - and assess the five possible replacements/backup centers already being kicked around in the media and elsewhere.

Nene
Pro: When healthy and lean, he has the potential to be an All-Star power forward. He's remarkably quick for his size, has the wingspan of a seven-footer (and then some), terrific hands and isn't afraid to muscle his way past opposing power forwards. In many ways, he reminds me of a taller Calvin Natt. But most unfortunately, he seems to have inherited Natt's knack for getting injured, as well (let's hope he doesn't inherit Natt's desire to run a mortuary, too).

Con: With his injury track record over the past 4 seasons, he makes Camby look like A.C. (which stands for "All Christian," for the uninformed) Green. Also, Nene is generously listed at 6'11" and 250 lbs when he's more like 6'9" and 275 lbs, and has a tendency to enjoy his Brazilian off-seasons a bit too much. I mean, did any of you see Nene in last summer's Tournament of the Americas? He looked like Grimace from McDonalds.

Steven Hunter
Pro: He's legitimately seven feet tall and he's only 26. Did I mention he's legitimately seven feet tall and only 26 yet? I'm not sure what else to write about here.

Con: Hunter doesn't possess a killer instinct and easily gets pushed around in the paint. He's one of those guys you look at and say: "Wow, he looks like a basketball player!" but he just isn't. Even when he got 23 minutes a game as a 76er before coming to Denver, he averaged just 6.4 ppg and 4.8 rpg. He's essentially Kwame Brown without the anvil around his neck of being picked first in the draft.

Francisco Elson
Pro: As a recent former Nugget, Elson should be familiar with Denver's "system." He's also stated that he'd like to come back to Denver, and I always give players extra bonus points for actually wanting to be here. Also - and for no justifiable reason - I liked Elson in Denver. I thought he was an able backup center to Camby and had a good attitude. But maybe I'm just a sucker for the Dutch.

Con: Elson won a championship ring with the Spurs in 2007, but was frequently benched in favor of the tougher Fabricio Oberto. Why? Elson stays away from the basket too much. For a guy who's seven feet tall, his career FG% is .478 and he averages less than one block per game. Ugh.

Chris Andersen
Pro: Where do I start? The Birdman is a rare holdover from the Jeff Bzdelik era (as is Nene) and has long been one of the all-time fan favorites in Denver. I think this is because we see a lot of ourselves in the Birdman: if we woke up one day with the same basketball "skills" we have now, but were suddenly 6'10" and could jump out of the building, we'd probably play like Birdman, too. Andersen also hustles whenever he's on the court and his wingspan and athleticism will be needed on the defensive end in Camby's absence. Another plus, in his career Andersen has averaged 1.3 blocks per game in just 16.4 minutes of playing time.

Con: The obvious con is that Andersen hasn't been in the league long since serving over a two year suspension for violating the NBA's drug policy. It was a good sign when the New Orleans Hornets welcomed him back as soon as he was reinstated, but they're a franchise built around Christian fundamentals (even though their owner is a total hypocrite) and frequently attend church as a team (I'm not advocating for this, by the way, just explaining what they do). So I cringe a little bit when I think about Andersen partying with Melo, A.I., K-Mart and J.R. Smith.

David Harrison
Pro: Harrison is also a legit seven-footer and has Colorado ties, having played for CU in college. He's admitted to being childish in the NBA so far, but claims he's put that behind him and is willing to take a minimum salary to play in Denver.

Con: As articulated in our NBA Draft Preview, most centers drafted after the 10th pick or so are stiffs, and Harrison has been one in the NBA thus far, on and off the court. Harrison has also never gotten his weight down. I guess this happens when you smoke a lot of pot and get the munchies (an admitted cheap shot and a bad joke to boot).

In conclusion, I think its safe to assume that Nene will start at center if he physically can do so. Because even though Hunter is already under contract, as well, he's a stiff and will remain the team's number three backup center.

The real question is: who will be the primary backup center behind Nene? Elson, Andersen or Harrison? And who would you prefer to have?

Given that the Nuggets just lost their best hustle guy in Eduardo Najera and their only shot blocker in Camby, I believe bringing back the Birdman is a no-brainer here. Especially if the Nuggets want to play small, loose and fast, Andersen will be a great complement to the players already in place on offense, while altering plenty of opponents' shots and picking up a few blocks on defense. If nothing else, Andersen ups the Nuggets "entertainment value," so along with watching Rocky you won't feel totally robbed when you fork out 10% more for your season tickets.

And just for us Nuggets fans, maybe the Birdman will bring back his half-court, off-the-glass dunk from the Denver All-Star Weekend?

One can dream.

Debunking the myths coming out of the pro "Camby trade" camp...

2008-07-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

First off, I want to sincerely thank all of you for your passionate and (in most cases) thoughtful commentary on the Marcus Camby trade that went down on Tuesday night. Now that the dust has settled from this still shocking news, I need to cut through the bullshit being fed to us by Nuggets management and, most unfortunately, being bought into by many of this blog's readers and Nuggets fans everywhere. With that said, here are the seven myths being tossed around the most and why they aren't true...

Myth #1: The Nuggets had to move Camby because they have bigger plans in the works.
The Camby trade was just a salary dump, plain and simple. Don't be duped by the $10 million trade exemption that team Vice Presidents Mark Warkentien and Rex Chapman are boasting about. Unless a can't miss, home run deal falls into their lap, the Nuggets will enter 2008-09 as presently constructed and will remain "lean" salary cap-wise for the next two seasons. If you add up the non-re-signing of Eduardo Najera, the trading away of a first round pick that would've required guaranteed money, the Camby "trade" and the cuts coming with the Avalanche, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that owner Stanley Kroenke is cutting back across the board. Maybe Stan is getting crushed in the stock market like the rest of us.

Myth #2: Kenyon Martin is only on the books for two more seasons. So by getting rid of Camby now and Martin in two years, the Nuggets will sign a big name free agent during the summer of 2010.
For all you optimists who have written in saying that K-Mart is gone after two seasons, think again. K-Mart is on the books for three more seasons. The third season is a player's option, not a team option. And I think it's safe to assume that K-Mart will exercise his option commanding the Nuggets to pay him $16.5 million for the 2010-11 season.

Myth #3: Mark Warkentien and Rex Chapman are smart, experienced guys and they have a plan in place.
Warkentien has never aided in the building of an NBA championship team and has a long, "distinguished" track record of seeking talent over everything else...including ethical behavior. So it's no surprise that Warkentien is throwing out the quality character performers like Camby and Najera while building the team around talented but troubled guys like Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. I'm not suggesting for a second that they build the team around Camby, just that you have to have a balance between quality characters and quality players, and the Nuggets (who didn't really have that in the first place) are now completely out of balance there.

Chapman, on the other hand, may be a decent guy with good basketball know-how, but I doubt he's a master of salary cap economics or statistics. He did, after all, only go to college for two years, and it was at the "University" of Kentucky (hmmm...just like former disastrous GM Dan Issel).

In other words, there's no reason to have any faith in Warkentien and Chapman's ability to build a championship. Warkentien has essentially failed upward thanks to a crony run old boys network within the NBA, and Chapman remains his novice right hand man.

Myth #4: The Clippers had the market cornered for Camby, and this was all the Nuggets could do.
This is the most frustrating one for me. If management is under a mandate or whatever from Kroenke to slash payroll and Camby had to go, I say fine. I'm not going to demand that the Nuggets continue paying into the luxury tax for a team that won't win a title. But at the very least, they owe it to us fans to explore every possible trade scenario (including pre-draft and three way deals) to keep the team competitive while flexible cap-wise, and clearly that didn't happen here. It's inconceivable - IN-CON-THEE-VABLE! - that the Clippers were the only team in the NBA willing to take on an All-Star caliber player like Camby with a reasonable salary.

If I was Warkentien and Chapman and my boss ordered me to shed payroll, I would have kept my own first round pick this summer and moved Camby prior to the draft for (at the very least) an extra first rounder. A few years ago, the Pistons - a team under a constant mandate to keep salaries reasonable - were able to move on from letting defensive star center Ben Wallace leave for nothing by immediately restocking the barn through the draft with Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson. There's no reason to believe the Nuggets couldn't have done something similar.

Myth #5: George Karl has the full support of management and they're on the same page.
If you read Karl's reaction to the Camby trade, he was clearly and justifiably stunned. Knowing that Karl also wanted Najera to be re-signed, it's obvious that he has no input in personnel decisions - something he allegedly asked for when former GM Kiki Vandeweghe's contract was in limbo in 2005. Say what you want about Karl (and I've certainly said a lot), but I'll take his track record of 870+ coaching victories any day of the week over the Kroenke Cronies who are running the team. Management is basically sandbagging Karl with a small, injury prone team that he'll have to navigate through the even tougher Western Conference next season. In other words, don't be surprised if Karl mails in another season daring management to fire him. Oh, joy.

Myth #6: The Nuggets are in prime position to capitalize on the 2010 free agent market.
This was one of the biggest myths posted about in the comments yesterday. Thanks to K-Mart's $16.5 million 2010-11 salary staring us in the face - to go along with Anthony's $17 million, Nene's $11 million and J.R. Smith's likely $7+ million that season - the Nuggets will be scrambling to sign one mid-level free agent in 2010. And that's if they're willing to exceed the luxury tax threshold again. I'd rather see the Nuggets work through the draft - as Detroit, Boston, the LA Lakers and Utah have done - to improve the team around their star players. But, hey, that would require, you know...drafting.

Myth #7: The Nuggets will be effective playing small ball.
Even with the new "no hand checking rules" and the dominance of point guards in the NBA, size still matters. Especially in the Western Conference. I don't know who the Nuggets are fooling in terms of how this team - sans Camby or a worthy Camby replacement - will stack up against the giant big men who still reside in the Western Conference. Imagine Anthony, Martin and Nene going up against the Lakers' Bynum, Gasol and Odom, or the Suns' O'Neal, Stoudamire and Diaw, or the Jazz's Okur, Kirilenko and Boozer, or the Trailblazers' Oden and Aldridge, or the (gulp) Clippers' Kaman, Camby and Thornton.

Now, according to the Rocky Mountain News, the Nuggets are talking about bringing Francisco Elson and Chris Andersen back to Denver as replacements for Camby's production. This reminds me of when the Nuggets replaced Dikembe Mutombo with Ervin "Don't Call Me Magic" Johnson in 1996.

Unfortunately for us die hard Nuggets fans, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

More thoughts on the Camby trade...

2008-07-16T00:13:00.000-07:00

I've often wondered what it would have been like to have sports blogs during the era when Bernie Bickerstaff was running our Denver Nuggets. Can you imagine the fan outrage voiced here or on other Nuggets-related blogs when in one summer Bernie allowed All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo to depart for nothing and traded away the 10th pick in the draft (which could have turned into Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash or Jermaine O'Neal) and Jalen Rose for the 18th pick and drafted a no-name Greek bust named Efthimious Rentzias whom Bernie later admitted to never seeing play in person?

12 summers later, we as Nuggets fans - whose season ticket prices have been raised 10% - are getting screwed again and must speak out against the atrocious maneuvers taking place within the organization we pay to support. In just a few weeks, the Nuggets have passed on participating in a deep NBA Draft, allowed one of our best hustle players in Eduardo Najera to walk without ever making an offer and have now traded the team's only defensive presence, center Marcus Camby. While these latest moves (or non-moves) don't rival losing a Mutombo and Rose and getting only a Rentzias in return, they reek of the same macro problem: lack of vision and deal-making savvy at the top. Like Mr. Bickerstaff, we again seem to have small-minded people who don't understand the first thing about the salary cap or economics (kind of like the US Senators who were trying to grill Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday) running our Nuggets.

The Nuggets "brass" of Mark Warkentien and Rex Chapman are already trying to sell the Camby trade as a deal that gives the team cap flexibility to make bold moves in the future. But unless a big deal to improve the team is coming soon, in reality they were just being lazy by dumping Camby for virtually nothing. When this blog (and other Denver sports columnists) advocated for a Camby trade, we assumed it would be...well...an actual @#$% trade! Not for the option to partake in a second round draft choice swap meet with the Clippers in 2010.

ESPN.com's John Hollinger has gone on record stating that the Clippers had "the market cornered and could name their price" for Camby, but that's nonsense. I was hoping to do a post this week outlining the various Camby trade options with other teams that would have netted the Nuggets - at the very least - a late first round pick and a halfway decent point guard (such as making a deal with New Jersey for a pick and Marcus Williams or with Chicago for Kirk Hinrich in exchange for Camby and possibly Linas Kleiza).

While several NBA teams are being run by innovative, "Moneyball"-type GMs using a hybrid of basketball know-how, statistical lineup breakdowns detailing the most efficient on-the-floor player combinations, international scouting and salary cap maneuverability to improve their teams, the Nuggets continue to do things the old way (like when Bickerstaff used appearances in Sports Illustrated to determine who to draft).

In 2004, when the Nuggets had salary cap flexibility and six first round draft picks over two years, former GM Kiki Vandeweghe panicked by trading three of those picks to New Jersey for Kenyon Martin and signing the undersized power forward with no shooting touch and suspect character to a maximum deal. When that didn't work and Kiki was ousted for UNLV and Portland Jailblazer castoff Mark Warkentien, "Wark" set out to build an All-Star team where character, salary cap space, lineup combinations that fit together and retaining draft picks were secondary to raw talent. And now that that hasn't worked, Wark is dumping salary without maximizing the few assets (i.e. Camby and Najera) the Nuggets once had.

Mr. Warkentien, unless you have something stellar up your sleeve that none of us know about, you're officially Number One on the Stiff List!

Marcus Camby...LA Clipper?!!...

2008-07-15T18:41:00.001-07:00

Just as I'm about to walk out the door for a dinner I can't be late to, I'm getting bombarded from readers with this link from ESPN.com claiming that Marcus Camby has been traded to the Los Angeles Clippers...for a second round pick?!! I just checked out the Rocky Mountain News' site, and according to Nuggets beat writer Chris Tomasson, the deal is done.

We'll discuss this more later tonight, but my initial reaction is a combination of pissed off and bewildered. I mean, why trade one of the best defensive centers in the league for a starting point guard when you can get a meaningless second round pick? You're telling me Marcus Camby isn't worth at least (at least!) a first round pick?!

It looks like the Nuggets are either desperate to shed payroll (what are we, the Florida Marlins now??) or are making another big move shortly. But without knowing about possible deals coming down the pike, this "trade" rivals sending Chauncey Billups to Orlando for Tariq Abdul-Wahad and is will likely make our Denver Stiffs "Worst Trades in Denver Nuggets History" list coming later this summer.

And for those of you who still defend Kenyon Martin on this blog but are likely upset about losing Camby and Eduardo Najera for absolutely nothing, now you know why signing K-Mart will forever poison this version of the Nuggets. Thank you, Kiki.

Vegas, Baby, Vegas...

2008-07-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Trying to be a responsible Nuggets blogger (and since I was unable to watch the first game on Saturday), I was hoping to watch the second game played by the Nuggets Summer League team today. But for reasons that completely befuddle me, NBATV is only showing some of the games, not all. And the rest of the games - like today's 90-79 "victory" over the Toronto Raptors - are streamed at NBA.com on a tiny screen with one camera angle and no announcers. I couldn't even make out the players' uniform numbers or see if new "Assistant Coach" Nick Van Exel hit any of the refs after a bad call!

Before we get to my cheap seats commentary on the Summer League, I must take a shot at NBATV for not showing all the games. Simply put, what's the @#$%& point of NBATV if they don't show everything NBA?!! I don't need to watch the 80th airing of NBA Access with (Michael Jordan ass-kisser) Ahmad Rashad, and I sure as hell don't need to watch WNBA Action, either. And to stream the games online in the worst possible way is another disgrace altogether. I mean, what are Nuggets fans supposed to do at work all day if they can't watch the Summer League games properly online?

If the NBA is too cheap to broadcast all the summer games, I suggest they hire team-specific bloggers - like yours truly - to announce the competition. Trust me, we'll do it for nothing more than a free trip to Vegas and a nominal per diem. (While we're being curmudgeonly, shame on Altitude* for not showing the Nuggets Summer League games, either. Are you telling me the Nuggets Summer League game isn't more compelling than the Miss Colorado Pageant? I didn't even know there was a Miss Colorado Pageant!)

Regarding the games, since the Nuggets don't play again until Thursday I thought we'd take a quick look at Games 1 and 2. In both games, Grizzlies and Kings' castoff Dahntay Jones (pictured above) - a guy we overlooked in our Summer League team analysis - has put up the biggest numbers. Jones had 16 points today on 60% shooting, and on Saturday he posted 21 points on 53% shooting.

Jones - a former first round pick from Duke - is one of those players that quickly fell off the NBA radar for me. In looking at his career numbers, his best season appeared to be 2006-07 when he put up 7.5 ppg in 21.4 minutes of playing time and he was a bust in his other NBA campaigns. But Jones is getting rave reviews out of Vegas thus far, and even though he's a competitor of newly acquired Sonny Weems in the "freakishly athletic 6'6" guy off the bench" category, a training camp invite might be his if he keeps this up.

Other notable Summer League action has been the Game 1 performances from Weems' (17 points in 20 minutes of action), Keith Langford (14 points in just 16 minutes) and my dark horse candidate to make the Nuggets' training camp, Elton Brown (13 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes). In today's Game 2, Brown posted another double/double (11 points, 10 rebounds) and point guard Taurean Green had a decent, well-rounded outing (17 points including 12 free throw attempts, and 4 assists), while Weems laid an egg with a 1-7 shooting day.

Has anyone besides me tried watching these games?

*If for some reason Altitude broadcasted the Summer League game even though it wasn't on their schedule, then I apologize to all the Altitude executives whom I may have offended for putting the Miss Colorado Pageant on the air. Actually, check that: they should still be ashamed for airing the Miss Colorado Pageant no matter what.

Revisiting Dan Issel...

2008-07-14T07:48:00.001-07:00

For the second time in about four years, the Denver Post's Woody Paige is advocating for the Nuggets to bring the legendary former player, sometimes decent former coach and horrific former general manager Dan Issel back to the organization.

I agree with Paige that just because Issel made one stupid, racially insensitive remark - that he's since apologized for - he shouldn't be forever banned from the NBA (after all, Don Imus keeps making such comments and he can't get fired). It's also worth noting - as Paige does in his column today - that Issel won more playoff games in one season (six) than the Nuggets franchise has won collectively since. But I think that's more of a reflexion on the Nuggets organization and current head coach George Karl's ineptitude than Issel's abilities as a bench tactician.

But even though Issel was a great player and by all accounts a good and decent person, as detailed on this blog in late March he was a disaster as a GM. So while a lifetime ban for calling a fan a "Mexican piece of shit" may not be justified, trading away four first rounds picks (three of them lottery picks!), dealing Chauncey Billups for Tariq Abdul-Wahad (and signing him to $6 million per year!) and drafting Raef LaFrentz over four future perennial All-Stars should at a minimum give Issel a lifetime ban from front office work.

That being said, if the Nuggets wanted to bring Issel back as an assistant coach, consultant or broadcaster, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Just keep "The Horse" away from any player personnel decisions.

Adios, Eduardo...

2008-07-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

As expected, Eduardo Najera is no longer a Denver Nugget. I think we can collectively agree that we sincerely appreciated Najera's time in Denver. He gave a solid effort on a nightly basis, and his toughness and energy around the basket will be missed.

Who's going to set picks now?

Friday links...

2008-07-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm heading out of town for the weekend shortly, so the blogging will have to resume on Sunday night. In the meantime, here are some Nuggets-related articles that popped up this week...

The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla continues to advocate for a Marcus Camby trade (something we'll delve into in great detail next week). Like many of the Denver Stiffs readers, I've been calling for a Camby trade since May. But I hope you all keep one thing in mind: the West is HUGE. All the top teams have at least three big guys, if not four. So trading Camby for a point guard and replacing him with a collection of stiffs like Stephen Hunter and/or a David Harrison or a Jelani McCoy isn't going to cut it. Just something to think about.

Eduardo Najera - not surprisingly - is getting interest from several NBA teams, including Kiki Vandeweghe's New Jersey-but-soon-to-be-Brooklyn Nets. What is surprising is that Najera wants to stay with the Nuggets. Why exactly? I guess he'd prefer to be someplace where he's in the minority of players who gives a full effort each night as opposed to a place like San Antonio where all the players bring it nightly. You have to stand out somehow, right?

Carmelo Anthony has boldly stated that it's "time for a change" to improve his life and image. That's awesome, Melo! Does this mean no more late night partying? Extra time in the gym and weight room this summer? An improved diet perhaps? More charity work? Nope. He's hired a new marketing agency to re-brand himself. I mean, why take self-responsibility when someone else can do it for you?

Oh, and Mario Chalmers (whom I foolishly dismissed too easily as a possible draft pick for the Nuggets) has been reportedly tearing it up in the Orlando Summer League thus far. It is just Summer League, but I have a hunch that Chalmers will produce nicely for the Heat.

To recap the week, I agree with the readers of this blog and some of the columnists out there that if the Nuggets do nothing this off-season - especially at the point guard position - we could be in a world of hurt in 2008-09. Portland just got a heck of a lot better this summer through the draft ("Draft? What draft? There was a draft?" said Nuggets' GM Mark Warkentien), Dallas has brought back Sagana Diop making them even bigger up front, and I wouldn't sleep on Golden State with Corey Maggette. Lest we forget that the Warriors won 48 games last season.

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

A weak analysis of the Nuggets Summer League Roster...

2008-07-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

I was going to wait until the NBA Las Vegas Summer League kicked off this weekend to write about the Nuggets roster. But Denver Stiffs reader "micb" beat me to the punch and brought it up as a comment on our last post, so I thought I'd get this out tonight in hopes that the Summer League roster discussion will take place here.

First off, here's a glance at the Nuggets 2008 Summer League Roster, courtesy of Nuggets.com:

(No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. School Exp.)
6 Elton Brown F 6-9 255 Virginia R
7 Jamon Gordon G 6-3 212 Virginia Tech R
0 Taurean Green G 6-0 177 Florida 1
8 Mike Hall F 6-8 230 George Washington 1
11 Bobby Jones F 6-7 215 Washington 2
1 Dahntay Jones G/F 6-6 210 Duke 5
2 Keith Langford G 6-4 215 Kansas 1
3 Chris Lofton G 6-2 200 Tennessee R
5 Jelani McCoy F/C 6-10 245 UCLA 8
9 Curtis Sumpter F 6-7 225 Villanova R
13 Sonny Weems G/F 6-6 203 Arkansas R
10 Jeff Varem G/F 6-6 245 Washington State R

As stated in my NBA Draft Preview, I don't follow enough college basketball to even attempt to showcase any expertise on the Summer League participants. But like all things NBA, there are certain trends associated with Summer League rosters that allow you to make some assumptions. For example, like actresses who take their clothes off in movies, most Summer League players are either new to the scene (like Sonny Weems and Chris Lofton) or have been around a while and are desperate to get one last high paying job (like Lamond Murray last year and Jelani McCoy and Dahntay Jones this year).

If you don't buy into my actress analogy, I gladly refer you to Heather Graham's career.

By my accounting, the real Nuggets roster already has 10 of 15 slots filled (assuming the re-signing of J.R. Smith and Anthony Carter, but not Eduardo Najera yet). And you have to figure the Nuggets will sign at least one low-priced free agent soon. Therefore, it's possible that four roster spots could be up for grabs between the Summer League and training camp rosters. But how many of these Summer League guys have a viable shot at being on the Nuggets roster beyond training camp?

I've looked at the Nuggets Summer League rosters dating back to 2005 - the commencement of what I'll start naming The Era of Karl and the Kroenke Cronies (referring to head coach George Karl and the Nuggets GM troika of Mark Warkentien, Bret Bearup and Rex Chapman). In 2005, two summer league participants - Julius Hodge and Linas Kleiza - ended up on the training camp and regular season roster. But as first round draft choices, they were assured of making the team. In 2006, only Yakhouba Diawara - who was undrafted - found his way into training camp and onto the Nuggets roster. And last year, Von Wafer was the sole survivor from Summer League (on a roster that also featured - gulp - Nikoloz Tskitishvili in what will most assuredly be his final NBA "gig") who scored a spot on the Nuggets opening day roster, while McCoy joined the team later on as a seat filler for injured players. Therefore, it's not worth spending a lot of time fussing over the Summer League roster, as most of these guys will never be heard from again in the NBA.

But in looking at the 2008 roster and taking history into consideration, it looks like Weems has the best shot of being a full-time Nugget in 2008-09 (they did trade for the guy, after all) with Green and Bobby Jones also having a chance due to the organization's familiarity with them.

If you're looking for a dark horse candidate to show up at training camp, consider Virginia alum Elton Brown, whom my colleague Mike Moreau of HoopsWorld.com emailed me saying "[Brown] knows his way around the basket" and is a "good player." Since Mike knows a hell of a lot more about these guys than I do (his organization trains them for Summer League), I did a little digging on Brown and he seems like an intriguing prospect. In addition to being 6'9" and over 250 pounds, Brown averaged almost 20 ppg and 10 rpg in 2006-07 for the Nuggets NBDL affiliate, the Colorado 14ers...all while playing for ex-Nugget Joe Wolf (now that's an accomplishment!). Also, Brown upped his production to 25 ppg and 12 rpg in the NBDL playoffs that year.

Since the Nuggets didn't take my advice and draft a big man like D.J. White when they had the chance, it may not be a bad idea to have an extra 6'9" power forward around for training camp. It's clear that the Nuggets collection of reserve "swingmen" over the years hasn't been productive (take your pick: Diawara, Hodge, Wafer, Jones, DerMarr Johnson and so on). Besides, you can never have enough size in the Western Conference.

Again, I haven't seen a lot of these guys play, so I welcome your thoughts and insights on the Summer League roster. In the meantime, I'll try to get more scoop on Brown from my University of Virginia contingency.

One less team to worry about...

2008-07-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

When the news broke last week that Baron Davis would be joining Elton Brand on the Los Angeles Clippers, I feared that the Western Conference would now have two teams (in addition to the Portland Trailblazers) that could leapfrog from non-playoff teams into postseason participants in 2009, possibly muscling out our beloved Nuggets while doing so.

But my fears about the Clippers have subsided as Brand is reportedly signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. I guess Elton prefers to be on a perennial playoff team in the Eastern Conference that will never win a championship to being on a perennial playoff team in the Western Conference that probably wouldn't win a championship either, but certainly had a better shot with him and BD on the same team. But given that these guys only have about a 15-year window with which they can make as much money as possible, I can't blame Brand for signing a five-year, $82 million deal.

Now I'll just lose sleep over those pesky Blazers...

Welcome back Carter?...

2008-07-07T11:33:00.001-07:00

The Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson is reporting that the Nuggets are likely re-signing Anthony "A.C." Carter to a one-year deal. Readers of this blog know that while I'm not a proponent of having Carter be the team's starting point guard, I have to defend the guy for giving a workmanlike effort every time he plays. For his paltry $1 million salary, he gives more effort than anyone on the team not named Iverson or Najera. And at the end of the day, its not A.C.'s fault that coach George Karl allots him so many minutes. What's he supposed to say: "Uh, no thanks, coach, I'm gonna sit this one out"?

Meanwhile, a lot of Denver Stiffs readers were advocating a sign and/or trade for the Bulls' Chris Duhon as the Nuggets possible starting point guard. I've never liked Duhon's game (6.9 ppg, 4.5 apg and a ghastly 38.7 career shooting percentage) as anything more than a backup point guard. And now that the Knicks have grossly overpaid him (rumored to be their full midlevel exemption of $6 million per season for two years), I'm convinced that Isiah Thomas is still running their organization. I mean, Donnie, come on, you're kidding, right? You're better than that!

So say what you want about A.C., but I'd much rather have his 7.8 ppg, 5.5 apg and 45.8 FG% (on the Nuggets last season) for $1.26 million than Duhon's nominal (at best) production for $6 million.

While we're at it, does anyone have Duhon's agent's number? I'd like to hire that guy to get DenverStiffs.com some more business!

The Nuggets new division rival: the Oklahoma City [insert name here]...

2008-07-03T12:10:00.001-07:00

In addition to the hullabaloo over last week's NBA Draft and this week's free agency movements, one of the Nuggets division "rivals", the Seattle Supersonics, are moving to Oklahoma City after 41 years in the Emerald City. The move has surprised no one, as the new Sonics owner (and OKC native) Clay Bennett (pictured with NBA Commissioner David Stern) has wanted the team in OKC ever since he bought it from Seattle native and Starbucks founder, Howard Schultz.

A couple thoughts...

First off, as a Nuggets fan, this may not be a bad thing. Since there's absolutely nothing to do in OKC, this is one less city where the Nuggets players will get themselves into trouble on the road.

But secondly, and more importantly, I feel genuinely bad for Sonics fans. While the Seattle metro area (3 million or so residents) is a little bigger population-wise than Denver's (approx. 2.3 million), our cities and our NBA fans/franchises have been very similar historically. Both cities consistently rate high on all those "best cities to live in" lists, and each franchise came onto the scene 41 years ago (Denver as the Rockets in the ABA and the Sonics in the NBA).

As fans, we both look back fondly at the good old days of the late 1970s when the Nuggets made an immediate splash in the NBA and the Sonics appeared in back-to-back NBA Finals (netting a championship in 1979). In the 1980s, we had high-scoring, consistently entertaining teams that met in the 1988 playoffs when Denver's Alex English, Fat Lever and Jay Vincent bested Seattle's Xavier McDaniel, Tom Chambers and Dale Ellis in an exciting five-game, first round series. And of course, we all remember the mid-1990s when the young, 8th-seeded Nuggets upset the powerhouse, 1st-seeded Sonics. Both teams were stacked with quality young talent, and the Sonics would find their way into the finals in 1996 while the Nuggets imploded under former Sonics coach-turned-Nuggets-GM, Bernie Bickerstaff.

In addition, like being a Nuggets fan in Denver, being a Sonics fan in Seattle relegates you to third-class citizen status (in their case, behind the Seahawks and Mariners). So while the Seahawks and Mariners seemed to have no problem getting new stadiums recently, the Sonics were the odd team out. Luckily for us in Denver, we have an owner who also owns the more popular draw, the Avalanche.

Thirdly, I blame former Sonics owner Schultz for much of this. Schultz is one of the wealthiest men in America, and yet because his basketball team was hemorrhaging money, he decided to sell. Fine. I'm not suggesting anyone has to keep something that's not profitable, but at the very least Schultz should have sold it to another local owner. It's not like he needed the money! Selling the team to Bennett under the auspices that he would use his "best efforts" to keep the team in Seattle was total bullshit (pardon my language) from the start.

Fourthly, I think the team is going to do great in OKC. I used to think that moved teams owned by sleazebag liars like Bennett would be doomed to years of bad karma in their new locations. But Art Modell's Baltimore Ravens (formerly the Cleveland Browns) and alleged husband killer Georgia Frontiere's St. Louis Rams (formerly of Los Angeles) proved me wrong when both franchises won Super Bowls within just a few years of relocating. Moreover, the NBA has been quite successful in markets where they are the only game in town, such as Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and Orlando.

For basketball fans in Seattle - and for the NBA in general - this is a travesty and something I pray never happens to our beloved Nuggets. Even though we gripe about management, coaching, some of the players, etc, at least we have a team that's not going anywhere and an owner committed to keeping it that way. And for that I say: "thank you, Mr. Kroenke."

I hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend!

Your guide to the free agent market that the Nuggets can't participate in because we have no money left...

2008-07-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

The 2008 NBA free agent market kicked off at midnight with some notable names opting out of their contracts. Even under normal circumstances (i.e. not completely cap-strapped like the Denver Nuggets find themselves), a playoff team like the Nuggets wouldn't have a shot at big time free agents like Baron Davis, Elton Brand or Gilbert Arenas. But what's most unfortunate about the Nuggets' financial situation is that they likely cannot pursue "mid-level" free agents to improve the team for 2008-09. We'll be lucky just to keep our own coveted restricted free agent, J.R. Smith.

But if - again, IF - the Nuggets could actually spend some money this summer, here's a short list of unrestricted free agents that would improve our chances of winning a playoff series for once under George Karl. Please note that this list assumes the player is open to leaving his prior team (unlike Beno Udrih, who already re-signed with Sacramento) and he's not a max contract-type guy (such as Davis, Brand or Arenas).

So dream with me (or at least humor me) for a moment, and consider the following reasonably priced unrestricted free agent possibilities for the Nuggets to consider signing this summer. Basically, I want to see the Nuggets sign a decent sized backup guard who can hit three's, defend against the opposing team's tallest guard and provide some veteran leadership - i.e. what we haven't had since Jon Barry left.

1) James Posey. There will be no shortage of suitors for the former Nugget, but Posey would look damn, damn good in powder blue and gold next season. Posey is exactly what the Nuggets need: an oversized shooting guard (he's listed at 6'8") who can defend the opposing team's best scorer while consistently hitting three-pointers of his own, thus spreading the floor for his teammates. In addition, Posey leads by example with a tireless and tough effort on both ends of the floor. A Posey/Iverson/Smith backcourt would be just too good to be true.

2) Mickael Pietrus. When given ample playing time, Pietrus produces. In 2006-07, the 6'6" Pietrus put up 11 ppg to go with 4.5 rpg and 39% three-point shooting...while often guarding the opposing team's best shooting guard. He sulked on the bench last season under Don Nelson, but who didn't? (See Davis, Baron). And as an added bonus, if the Nuggets acquired Pietrus, they could keep Yakhouba Diawara's translator!

3) James Jones. Jones has been the odd man out in Phoenix and Portland, but when given playing time, he can be a lethal three-point shooter (evident by his 44% shooting from behind the arc last season) and an overall offensive threat. I'm not sold on his defensive chops, but at 6'8" and 27 years old, he's someone the Nuggets should consider.

4) Michael Finley. I've tried finding something on San Antonio re-signing Finley and have come up empty. So if he's re-signing with the Spurs and this is a non-starter to even suggest it, forgive me. But I'm unclear as to why Finley is so low on everyone's free agent lists. Yeah, he's 35 and has played in a boatload of playoff games, but he still appeared in all 82 games last year and shot a respectable 37% from three-point range (including a lot of clutch three's...just ask the Nuggets). Again, at 6'7" he gives the Nuggets more balance height-wise in the backcourt, in addition to a guy who can spread the floor as a legitimate three-point threat.

5) Sam Cassell. I know what you're thinking: just what a team already full of egos needs. But why not bring the career Nugget-killer Cassell over to our side for a one season tryout? Cassell has been quoted as saying George Karl is a "great coach" and frankly, the Nuggets could use a vocal leader both on the floor and in the locker room. And even though Cassell didn't do well in Boston's structured offense, he could thrive - even at 38 - in the Nuggets free-for-all "system." (Let's be honest, it would just be great to see a knucklehead playing with house money like Cassell paired with Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, Kenyon Martin and the disaster that is the Denver Nuggets locker room).

6) Kareem Rush. The only thing I know about Rush is that he put up double-digit scoring numbers in 19 out of 27 games (includng 42% three-point shooting) while on my Fantasy Team in January and February last season. I give Rush a lot of credit for helping my team finish second in the season-long boat race that is rotisserie basketball. But I digress. Rush hits the same notes already mentioned with the guards above: he's tall (6'6") and he can spread the floor (career 40% three-point shooter).

7) Shaun Livingston. Definitely the worst suggestion on this list considering his knee was broken into about twelve different pieces two years ago. But how many 6'7", 22-year-old point guards do you know? At the very least, Livingston merits consideration for a team with a perpetually short back court sans J.R. Smith (who's generously listed at 6'6" by the way).

More Jeff Bzdelik unplugged...

2008-06-30T08:58:00.001-07:00

A few readers pointed out to me that I missed former Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik's interview with FM 104.3 The Fan's Mike and Sandy earlier this month.

Readers of this blog know I'm a huge Bzdelik fan, and after hearing this interview, I like him even more (as if that was possible). Bzdelik talks about his recent trip to Iraq and then shares his thoughts on Carmelo Anthony, his interview for the Bulls coaching job and the NBA general.

The Denver Stiffs Week in Review...

2008-06-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

It was a busy week in Nuggets Nation. In case you missed anything, here's a recap...

Last weekend, ESPN.com reported that Detroit GM Joe Dumars offered former Nugget (and Denverite) Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince straight up for Carmelo Anthony, but that the Nuggets brass - in opposition of Nuggets head coach George Karl - aren't willing to trade Melo right now.

On Monday, Dino Costa scored an interview with Jeff Bzdelik and got the Nuggets former coach to offer some brutally honest insight into what Melo was like as an immature rookie. In addition, Melo was officially introduced as a member of the 2008 Olympic Basketball Team at a Chicago press conference.

On Tuesday, in looking forward to the Nuggets "drafting" 20th in Thursday's NBA Draft, we served up a detailed analysis of what the 20th pick means historically and dished out the Four Rules for a successful late first round draft. Later that day, Melo appeared in a Denver court and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving with alcohol. What was most notable about this was Karl's appearance in court to support Melo, a very classy and necessary move that might go towards repairing their somewhat fractured relationship.

On Wednesday, we posted the second part of our draft preview and after thoroughly analyzing the players likely to be available at 20th, we applied the Four Rules for a successful draft and recommended the Nuggets draft D.J. White, with consideration given to Marreese Speights, Darrell Arthur and Ryan Anderson. Just a few hours later, the Nuggets traded their pick to Charlotte for a future, overly-protected first round pick, causing outrage among Nuggets fans everywhere for passing on such a deep draft.

On Thursday, the Nuggets sat out the NBA Draft for the second year in a row. Cowards.

On Friday, it was revealed that the Nuggets acquired a new player in the draft, after all, by trading for second-round selection Sonny Weems of Arkansas. This prompted the best comment of the week from Denver Stiffs reader Eric:

"He's got a great name to pair with Carmelo Anthony on the growing list of 'African-Americans with Italian mobster sounding names'."

The word on Weems is that he's an "athletic" 6'6" that might participate in the dunk contest someday. It sounds like we just got a poor man's Harold Miner. Ugh.

On Saturday, Melo joined his compatriots on Team USA in Las Vegas and gave some candid comments on the end of the Nuggets 2007-08 season. Let's just hope he doesn't spray 15 bottles of champagne on the crowd at Tryst.

And today, the Denver Post's Mark Kiszla continues to put the heat on Karl by placing the responsibility for Melo having a successful 2008-09 season on the head coach. Couldn't agree more.

Yakhouba Diawara, meet your replacement...

2008-06-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

The Nuggets "participated" in last night's draft after all, trading a future second round draft pick (so they can sit out another draft probably) for Arkansas swingman Sonny Weems. I know nothing about Weems. I just read his bio at DraftExpress.com and it sounds like he's quite an athlete, but doesn't have a particularly accurate jumper and isn't a great defender (terrific). But from a silver-lining perspective, he was a senior and he's 6'6".

It sounds like we just picked up another Bobby Jones (the 2008 African-American version, not the 1970's Caucasian version, in case you were confused).

If any of you know anything about Weems, please share!

[UPDATED] D'OH! Nuggets trade the 20th pick...

2008-06-25T15:29:00.001-07:00

ESPN just reported that the Nuggets traded the 20th pick in tomorrow's draft to the Bobcats for a future first round draft choice. I'm assuming they've done this for three reasons:

1) They don't want to add another guaranteed salary with the potential re-signing of J.R. Smith and/or Anthony Carter and/or Eduardo Najera to deal with this summer.
2) None of the players the Nuggets worked out impressed them enough to make a selection.
3) The Nuggets brass is lazy and their scouting apparatus isn't up to snuff (I've been told they may not even have international scouting).

I think this is a mistake. You're telling me that adding a D.J. White or a Mario Chalmers or a Marreese Speights isn't an upgrade over Yakhouba Diawara or Taurean Green?

I'm so glad I spent the time necessary to provide comprehensive draft coverage and make recommendations. Can I have those six hours back please?

[UPDATED] The Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson explains the protections associated with the pick the Nuggets are getting back from Charlotte. Basically, the Nuggets wanted nothing to do with this pick, and thus traded it for cost and roster spot reasons.