First of all, I didn't want to take up the Rockets thread with this. Figured I'd let you guys enjoy your win without boring you with Nugs stuff. I was worried that hte team would come out slow due to new chemistry. This was confirmed. Unfortunatley, I didn't take into account the lack of leadership on the team. Andre Miller? Not a leader. Melo? Only 20. K-Mart? Certifiably insane. Camby? He tries, but there's only so much he can do. You add that to the fact that the players, and trainers, and fans, and anyone who has seen an NBA game in the last decade knew that Bzdelik was a lame duck coach and you have chaos waiting to happen. The Lenard injury hurt a lot. I know a lot of people are downplaying it, and I'm not saying we'd be 5 above .500 with him, but he would have opened the team up more. We'd probably be a .500 team if Lenard were healthy IMO. For crying out loud, we were starting Buckner for a while there. Speaking of Lenard's injury, we've had a LOT of injury problems. I believe Bzdelik had 11 different starting lineups in only 28 games. K-Mart has been out for at least 5 games. Nene has missed double digits. Melo has fought injuries. Camby has been relatively healthy, but that's hit and miss. Once again, not necessarily a huge excuse, as even without the smaller injuries we'd still only be .500. All in all, we're a mess. Chemistry problems about. I think, and I have NO sources on this one, that George Karl will be named coach sometime in the next two weeks. Good or bad, I'm not sure. I was leaning heavily bad, but maybe the team needs a jackass to run it to really get them moving. The nice guy approach from both Bz and Cooper obviously isn't working. I've heard a lot about him alienating his star players in both Seattle and Milwaukee, but he alienated them to 60+ wins in Seattle and a conference championship (which was pointed out to me on the Nugs board). Who knows. There's also the trade rumors. Nene for Redd is still a possibility. The Kidd rumors are still out there. Kelly can probably give more details on trade rumors than I can, but the Nugs will be active. After all this, my personal opinion? I apparently did something in a past life to piss off some deity. Every 10 years ('84 we were an Alex English broken wrist away from the NBA title. '94 we had #8 over #1. '04 we had a great exciting future) we have a year that gets Nugs fans excited only to spend the next 9 years in a personal hell. Well, I'm ahead of the game. In 2014, you guys better look out. We're gonna contend. We'll fall short because, well, that's what we do, but dammit, we're contending!
Relax it was just a game thread man, though your decorum is admirable! Good post anyway, I contend that Nuggets04 is the best non-Rockets fan poster here. Which still ranks lower than whalesh-t of course, but.....
George Karl might be a good coach for the Nuggets. I still hate those Sonics teams of his in the mid 90s. Rockets have been having their problems too, so its not like we can talk too much. We seem to be finding some chemistry, but we don't show up to play some nights. We also have a powder puff front line.
I second that George Karl would make a good coach, he seems like he could put Mello in his place and get K-Mart out of the NUT house...
Nene for Redd? serious. that would be a great move for the nuggets. But are there draft picks involved? because i do not see milwauke do this. also good trade for Elson, maybe he will get some more minutes then. Great sig btw Nuggets4 i hope the nuggets wil do better, i ilked the team last year. and elson is my favorite dutch basketbal player(more then gadzuric and smits.)
I respect a guy who lives thru thick and thin for his team (or thin and thin, something we all understand). BTW - send us your non-leader Miller.
Yeah he'd fit perfect with the knee he hurt last night. On any other team he's day-to-day, with the Rockets he's out for a month. Maybe now Boykins will get more playing time, I love that little guy. Err, did I just say that out loud? Pugs
I can't fathom the Bucks accepting the Nene-Redd deal unless the Nuggets include both of the #1s they're holding. I really just can't. Hilario has the potential to be a good big man in the L, but he's not a franchise player like Redd. If I'm the Bucks and I know Redd is walking this summer, I do a S&T that brings back a couple young players and draft picks. Ex: to Memphis for Battier, Miller, and a #1. I feel that a pairing of Karl and Melo will go down (almost) as smoothly as JVG and Francis. Carmelo's already tuned out one coach, which is one of the last things you want to see a young player do. It's like a dislocated shoulder - always easier the next time. Carmelo Anthony is going to have to look at himself, not like what he sees, and embrace guidance. Until he does that, as long as he keeps up the "why me" stance (check out the shoes), he's not going to maximize his potential. No one, no coach, can do this for him. K-Mart is demonstrating that he's not a max player, that he's a B+ PF that road a lot of hype and success in Jersey to get the contract and expectations last summer. He's a 15 and 8 guy that hasn't improved very much since his third year. He adds fire, but he's not a guy that can control games on either end of the floor. The Nuggets are still a playoff team, but they are fragil in their chemistry and can easily lose their focus. Their bench will also need to be solidified this summer, especially if Nene goes. Evan
I keep hearing Cavs wants Redd, Redd is from central Ohio, and the (former) Gunds have the money and interest -- and no need to SnT.
All right, let's do this. Meh. I just know you guys have been slumping almost as bad as us. I didn't want to rain on the parade of a victory. Plus, a lot of people take the GARM forum WAYYYYYYY too seriously. Man, I am a die-hard Miller fan. I've been pimping him since he was in Cleveland. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Nugs fans who are upset because he doesn't run as much. Legit complaint, but personally I'd rather have Miller doing that than Boykins doing those damn 1-on-5's that he seems to enjoy so much. Yeah, that's it. Send a 5'5" player into the middle of 5 opponents to jack up a wild shot. Sigh. Dude, we can't believe it either, but the rumor's been floating for a while. I pray that Kiki isn't the one turning this deal down. Trust me, you're not gonna be the only one in disbelief if that deal goes down. Don't remind me. Kiki's been great for the team, but he tends to take TOO long to think things over. Barry sat around for a long time waiting for us to formulate an offer before his wife told him "You're signing with Atlanta, the kids need to start school". In retrospect, it was the worst possible thing for everyone involved.
What about Carmelo? I would cut him some slack, but it's obvious that he didn't work on his game in the offseason or on his body.
If Carmleo does not make the ASG, Denver will have no particpants... in their own city. That would be pretty dissapointing.
honest question: was signing KMart a good thing? I'm curious to see what a Nuggets fan (diehard one) is thinking. I mean...they already had Nene...so why shore up with more PFs? Granted, Martin was good in the east but why sign him and deter Nene from growing? Although a Nene-for-Redd would sound nice.
I think there were 3 basic reasons: 1. Bring in a key component from a team that had established a winning atmosphere. Having players with NBA Finals experience is huge, especially for a young team. 2. Martin is a more polished player than Nene. Hilario is good, but is also still learning the nuances of the game. Martin is less prone to miscues, and is more consistent because of that. 3. Martin is only a year or two from entering his prime. Getting a (borderline) All-Star power forward at this point in his career is an incredibly rare opportunity. Couple this with an aging center called Camby, and you don't think twice. Is he really a franchise player? Is he really worth the cash? It's tough to say. This is a similar situation to when the Heat tried to get Juwan from the Bullets with that 100 M contract, though I'd like to believe that Martin's future will be brighter. Evan
Nuggets4, your insight into the Nugs is interesting, your consideration for Rox fans is appreciated, and your devotion to the Nuggets is admirable. Keep on posting. Now how can we pry Nene from you guys? j/k
I think Redd is the 2nd most overrated player in the association, behind Francis. There is no way he is a franchise player. Finley puts up very similar numbers as Dirk's sidekick, and no one would build a franchise around him. I would rather have Mobley who is similar offensively, but plays better defense. Sorry to go off topic.
A lot of people are ripping on Melo and a lot of it is undeserved IMO. He's took some PR hits, but it's not like he sat around and did nothing this summer. Was he in the best shape of his life? No. Was he in bad shape? No. I'm not worried about Melo yet. I want to see what he'll do with some coaching. Someone on the Nugs board I post on summed it up best. Giving K-Mart all that money wasn't bad. Giving up 3 draft picks for him wasn't bad. Doing both was. The draft picks scare me a little on that one. He's an upgrade over Nene and Camby's health is always a concern. Ginobili was our first choice (and damn he'd look good in metallic powder blue right now), and K-Mart was second. EMJohn makes some damn good points too. His insanity is something this team needs. That said, any time you give $95 mil to somoene who's certifiably insane, it's a risk. Agreed, but we don't want him to be THE cornerstone. We want him to be Melo's hired gun. Yeah, I try not to think about that. Schedule makers were NOT kind to us this year. We started out with a lot of home games, but they were all against good opponents. Then we have two or three road trips that are 7+ games each. Making up for last year where the schedule worked out pretty well for us.
from what i see, the big problem there is not having shooters to open up the court. redd would be perfect, but its a reach. you guys have some chips to deal, so i wouldn't worry too much. nene, white, skita, elson, and the picks can all be moved for a 2 who can shoot and defend.
