Denver Post: Teams Pondering Tskitishvili Deal Forward focus of interest Teams pondering Tskitishvili deal By Marc J. Spears Denver Post Staff Writer The Nuggets have been fielding phone calls from teams interested in trading for forward Nikoloz Tskitishvili. An NBA source said the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers have inquired about Tskitishvili. The Nuggets are in search of a defensive-minded swingman, and the 7-foot- 1, 235-pound Tskitishvili could be used as bait. "I am familiar with it," said Steve Heumann, Tskitishvili's agent. when asked about trade talks.cq"I've heard some things. It's very much in the Nuggets' hands. I know they are exploring a couple things." Tskitishvili, the fifth pick of the 2002 draft, will make $2.9 million this season. Whatever team he plays for must decide before the season whether to take a $3.6 million option for the 2005-06 season. As a second-year Nugget, he averaged 7.9 minutes, 2.7 points and 1.6 rebounds last season in in 39 games. last season.cq After the Nuggets acquired all-star forward Kenyon Martin last month, Tskitishvili expressed concern that there wouldn't be playing time available and that it may be in his best interest to be traded. Heumann said he hasn't asked the Nuggets to trade his client. Tskitishvili currently is in Europe. Footnotes Although free-agent swingman Rodney White has been receiving interest from the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings, general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said White could re-sign with the Nuggets. White averaged 13.7 minutes, 7.5 points and 2.3 rebounds last season. "We're making pro- gress," Vandeweghe said. When asked if the Nuggets were progressing on their search for a defensive-minded swingman, Vandeweghe said "not really." ... On Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony playing for the U.S. Olympic team, Vandeweghe said: "I'm very proud of him. He's played great." ... Heumann said former Oklahoma State guard Melvin Sanders, who played for the Nuggets' summer league team, was invited to training camp in October. Heumann said former Arizona guard Miles Simon, who also played for the summer league team, could be invited to camp. Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@denverpost.com or 303-820-5449. I know this has been discussed time and time again, but I am disappointed not to see "Houston" in the teams mentioned as showing interest in Skita. Nuggets are searching for a defensive minded swingman... Let's take a look at the above mentioned teams and what they could offer: -Note- 1) These are all trades that work in a 1-for-1 deal 2) The 1st number in parenthesis is the player's 04/05 salary 3) The 2nd number in parenthesis is the years left after 04/05 on their contract Atlanta SF Chris Crawford ($3,250,000 - 0) GF Boris Diaw ($1,053,720 - 2 - Team Option after 05/06) LA Lakers SF Devean George ($4,500,000 - 1 - Player Option after 04/05) SF Rick Fox ($4,928,625 - 0) Memphis Grizzles GF Shane Battier (recently signed contract: cant be traded until 12/15) GF James Posey ($5,408,700 - 2) GF Bonzi Wells ($7,770,000 - 1 - Team Option after 04/05) Chicago Bulls GF Scottie Pippen ($5,408,700 - 0) Philadelphia 76ers GF Aaron McKie ($5,500,000 - 3 - Player Option after 06/07 GF Greg Buckner ($2,880,000 - 3) Then there's the Rockets and what they could offer..... Houston Rockets GF Adrian Griffin ($807,546 - 0) It makes you wonder, if its defense the Nuggets really want I can't think of a better defender mentioned than Griffin. Combine that with his expiring contract, I would hope we could jump into the Skita sweepstakes, especially for that cheap.
Griffin is broken down. He is useless. And Skita really doesnt have a place on this team. I dont see JVG giving him many minutes. Just not a good fit.
I disagree Duece on both counts. Griffin should be healthy and able to contribute this year. Skita would make a nice backup center.
Skita is more of a pf or sf than a center. But on the bright side, him and Yao would be great together on the floor, but on the defensive side, we would get punished
developmentlly, skita is probably behind Nachbar, and Nachbar has a long way to go. i don't see him landing here. griffin is not goign to land us a player that has top 10 pick talent/potential. that said, denver is not goign to get "value" for skita, and whoever does land him is getting a cheap roll of the dice.
dconover, i hope griffin is able to return, but how do you know whether he's healthy or not? just wanna know if it was reported in the chronicle this summer or maybe CD mentioned on 610.....i thought mike dickerson had to retire with something similar to what griffin's had
Here's the problem with Skita, it's the same problem with Nachbar and other first-rounders that have shown nothing so far but still have something that titilates people: his option for 2005/06 must be picked by October 31st. Skita's option is $3.6M, Nacbar's is $2.3M. For comparison, Jimmy J is to make $2.475M. If you pick the option and the guy doesn't develop, you have an overpaid white scrub on the bench in 05/06. If you don't pick the option and the guy bursts out, he is an unrestricted FA after the season. It's real headache for GMs and they don't want to deal with it. Kiki is trying to pass this decision to somebody else and get a proven commodity in return. Problem is other GMs don't want to deal with it either. If Tskitishvilli comes to Rockets, CD will have two tough decisions to make by Oct 31st. Admittedly Tskitishvilli have shown a bit more promise/size/potential than Nacbar, plus he is much younger, however, his price tag is bigger too... The mother of all headaches will come next October when Joe D. will either have to pick up a $5.2 M option for Darco and make a lot of people in the locker room mad, or admit his mistake and let him become a FA aftr the next season...
