The Nuggets Get Steven Hunter and Bobby Jones for Reggie Evans and Ricky Sanchez</p> Tremaine welcomes Center-Forward Steven Hunter to the Nuggets</p> Name: Steven Hunter Height: 7-0 Weight: 240 Born: Oct 31, 1981 - Chicago, Illinois College: DePaul Draft: 2001 - 1st round (15th pick) by the Orlando Magic</p> Tremaine welcomes Forward Bobby Jones to the Nuggets</p> Full Name: Bobby Ray Jones Jr. Position: Forward Height/Weight: 6-7 / 215 Birthdate: January 9, 1984 (Compton, Calif.) High School: Long Beach Polytechnic HS (Long Beach, Calif.) College: Univ. of Washington (Seattle)</p> The Nuggets received Jones and Center Steven Hunter for Forward Reggie Evans and the rights to forward Ricky Sanchez, a 2005 draft product who has been playing for Idaho in the minors. Jones was underutilized by the 76ers and is the key to the Nuggets getting the better of the recent (September 10) trade with the 76ers.</p> Everyone is focusing on Reggie Evans for Steven Hunter and saying the Nuggets did ok but not great with this trade. Hunter is a solid Forward-Center swingman, but Evans is one of the very best rebounding power forwards in the NBA, and in fact led the league in rebounds per 48 minutes, with 19.7 of them! But Evans had no outside shot, no midrange shot, and almost no short jumper shot, and struggled almost as much as Shaquille O'Neal at the line. And Evans was such a voracious rebounder, that you could make the case that he was allowing the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Linas Kleiza, and Eduardo Najera on occasion to get a little lazy at the defensive end. If you don't think you need to go all out after the rebound, your cover defense is going to suffer some.</p> Truth is, both the 76ers and the Nuggets helped themselves big with this trade, with the 76ers getting an outstanding inside defender and second chance killer in Evans, and the Nuggets bringing in someone who can actually score from more than a few feet from the hoop while being an adequate defender. This was a sleeper trade, meaning that the observers and fans yawned when it was announced, not realizing that the player each team got was badly needed to plug a gaping hole. To many it was a yawner because neither Evans nor Hunter have any 3-point shot at all, and neither of them are very good at sensing and passing off to the best scoring opportunity.</p> But for the Nuggets, Hunter is a true backup for Marcus Camby at the five, and he is also a solid insurance policy for the Nuggets to be cashed in if K-Mart's attempt at being one of the first to recover from double knee surgery comes up short this year. There is no insurance policy for Nene coming up short by the way, it is an absolute necessity that Nene play solid from start to finish this season. For the 76ers, they got the high powered weapon needed to go from being one of the worst to one of the better rebounding teams.</p> Also, a no nonsense midwesterner, Hunter has a better chance than did the deep South and excitable Evans of staying out of the large George Karl doghouse. Conversely, Reggie Evan's career will get a major boost by being transferred to a team with a downright tiny doghouse. It is interesting to note that, this summer, the Nugget's front office, after trading the player that George Karl most overused, Steve Blake, then went on to trade away the player that, other than J.R. Smith, George Karl most underused. They thus went a long way toward clearing the deck of the wreckage that George Karl left in his wake last season, thus giving him a second chance to avoid gross rotation mistakes and overly severe player punishment binges. However, I, for one, have lost confidence in this Coach, and I'll believe it when I see it if Karl avoids repeating the same mistakes with the new cast of characters.</p> Quite honestly, I would have preferred Najera being traded instead of the younger Evans, which the 76ers might have gone for, but Najera is virtually a Nugget for life fixture at this point. </p> The other part of the trade, Bobby Jones for Ricky Sanchez, was fairly lopsided in favor of the Nuggets, and I predict Jones will be a pleasant but badly needed surprise for the Nuggets on defense and on outside shooting. Jones made an astounding 31 of 61 3-point attempts in 2004-05 for the Washington Huskies, and a respectable 29 of 88 the following year. As a rookie for the 76ers in 2006-07, Jones played only 7 1/2 minutes a game and was instructed to or decided to not attempt any 3-pointers, but he did get 2.6 points in those 7 1/2 minutes on .462 from the field. Jones is a player with upside pro potential, needing the right context to take flight. The context for a young player would be mainly hiscoaches, and the needs of his team. While the former is dubious for the Nuggets, the latter is clearly in Jones favor; Jones is exactly the kind of quick and talented defender the Nuggets so desperately need.</p> If you want to know whether Jones can score if given the chance, consider that he ranks as the 20th all-time leading scorer in Washington history with 1,226 points. He also ranks fourth all-time with 134 career steals. Jone's size and quickness make him a quality defender and, unlike Evans, he can guard multiple positions. So here you have the perfect young developmental forward for the Nuggets, someone who can score inside and out, and who has enough defensive hustle and talent to come up with some steals. A forward who can steal is a special disrupting advantage against teams that like to write the scripts for dominating a game and effectively have it won before the opening tip. The Spurs come to mind here. Please George Karl, don't blow this acquisition by not using Jones!</p> In summary, I think Hunter helps the Nuggets very slightly more than Evans helps the 76ers, but Jones helps the Nuggets way more than Sanchez helps the 76ers, unless Jones becomes a Karl Doghouse regular. I think the Nugget's front office has struck gold again, just like when they obtained Iverson over a dozen other teams who wanted Iverson. Hell, for all we know, realizing they might have given too much love to George Karl when they drafted the Coach's contract, maybe they have intervened in the George Karl-J.R. Smith war and arranged a truce that will last through the upcoming season. A fan can dream.</p> Here is the one and only Bobby Jones mixtape. Jones is number 15 for the Washington Huskies and you can see for yourself how he uses his height and quickness to do alot of damage to the opposing offenses. BOBBY JONES MIXTAPE http://www.youtube.com/v/abmNlUaIP5I</p>
Karl has become a Jones fan</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span id="redesign_default"> Bobby Jones took full advantage.</p> The guard was singled out by Karl as the Nuggets' standout of the game. The box score fairly well reflected his effectiveness: 17 points (7-of-11), six rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes.</p> "He was a factor defensively, he was a factor physically in the game," Karl said. "I thought Bobby did a great job for us. I thought he was a key that we needed to kind of stay in the game and almost won."</p> Said Jones: "I made a lot of good decisions. I was able to stand out offensively and defensively this game. It would have been nice to win, but I'm just trying to show Coach that I can do a lot of things to help the team out if I get the opportunity to be out there. It's a great compliment to hear that from him. Hopefully he can say that a lot more."</div></p> http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_7179392</p> </span></p>
Wow...surprised. I didn't think Bobby Jones would do anything in Denver, I was expecting a release.</p> Does he have a guaranteed spot on the roster? and if so, do you think he'll actually get PT?</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (peg182)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Wow...surprised. I didn't think Bobby Jones would do anything in Denver, I was expecting a release.</p> Does he have a guaranteed spot on the roster? and if so, do you think he'll actually get PT?</p> </div></p> He has a partially guaranteed contract, but word from an insider is that Karl loves him so he will make the roster.</p> Hard to say on PT right now.</p> </p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (peg182)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Wow...surprised. I didn't think Bobby Jones would do anything in Denver, I was expecting a release.</p> Does he have a guaranteed spot on the roster? and if so, do you think he'll actually get PT?</p> </div></p> He has a partially guaranteed contract, but word from an insider is that Karl loves him so he will make the roster.</p> Hard to say on PT right now.</p> </p> </div></p> Oh...nice. Looks like we'll be seeing even less of JR this season. Maybe even a trade..?</p>
Im thinking Jones will be getting 10-15 min a game and thats being generous. Jones is a good defender, but his overall game is still fairly underdeveloped. I would say to look for JR Smith to get more pt earlier in the season, but if he keeps making rookie mistakes in his 3rd year then there very well may be a longterm benching, or trade. Leaving Jones to get all the pt off the bench he can handle. I think Smith is a good defender too, its just on offense he gets a little worked up and he turns the ball over sometimes.</p>
Jones can really help on D. I am sure will get some minutes, and be able to help out of the bench. Hunter also can help of the bench. But with Denver needing D getting Jones can be bigger then it looks.</p>
http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_7208347</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> It doesn't matter that Bobby Jones probably won't have a defined role until the end of the Nuggets' training camp. He still recognizes a golden opportunity.</p> If Jones can put together a few more games as he did in the Nuggets' 119-110 exhibition loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday before a sellout crowd of 11,733 at Van Andel Arena, the role could become an expanded one.</p> With Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin getting the night off, Jones stepped into the starting lineup and scored 26 points, including 14 points in a torrid 7 1/2-minute stretch in the third quarter when Denver cut a nine-point deficit to 86-82.</p> A 6-foot-7 forward, Jones, who joined the Nuggets in a four-player deal with Philadelphia on Sept. 10, is known more for his defense, but he hit 9-of-13 shots against the Pistons (3-2), including 4-of-5 on 3-point attempts. He made 5-for-5 shots while scoring his 14 third-quarter points.</p> "I was in a good rhythm," he said. "I missed a few free throws, but overall I thought I played well. A lot of people can score, but my job is to disrupt teams' offenses. I had some open shots tonight, and I hit them. I want to be a complete player."</p> Although Nuggets coach George Karl said Jones' future probably won't be decided until the end of training camp Oct. 26, showings like Wednesday's are noticed. Jones entered the game averaging 8.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in four exhibition games. He played in 44 games with the 76ers a year ago, averaging 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds.</p> While Jones is noted for defense and showed he's capable of impressive offensive showings, Karl said he isn't making any predictions how Jones fit into the roster - or if at all.</p> "I have no idea," he said. "He's surprised us and moved up the ladder. He's definitely improved, but I'm not going to make any predictions or observations until camp is over."</p> Jones said the playing time he has received has been his best chance at carving a niche on an NBA roster. He was drafted in the second round (37th overall) by Minnesota in 2006 but was quickly packaged off to Philadelphia in a draft-day deal. He wound up playing in 44 games with Philadelphia last year, but also averaged 13.7 points and eight rebounds in three games with the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Developmental League last November.</p> "I don't want to take it easy," he said of making the Nuggets' roster. "I'm going to go hard in practice and play well when I get in games."</p> Another player trying to make the roster is 6-5 guard Von Wafer, who chipped in seven points, four rebounds and two assists, but also turned over the ball four times in 24 minutes Wednesday. He's trying to make the team as an extra guard capable of providing a scoring punch.</p> "I just want to get in and get a few minutes and contribute to the team," said Wafer, who led the Nuggets' summer league team in scoring with 24.2 points in 26 minutes per game.</p> </div></p>
Bobby Jones has made the final 14 man roster</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span class="headline2">Nuggets make cuts</span></p> The Nuggets cut their roster to 14 players after the game Tuesday. Waived were Mike Wilks, Anthony Roberson, Brad Stricker, Jelani McCoy and Stacey Augmon, all of whom have nonguaranteed contracts.</p> The Nuggets, and other NBA teams, have to get down to 15 players by Thursday.</p> "He said I was caught up in a numbers game,'' said Wilks, who added that he was informed after the game by executive Rex Chapman that he was being let go after only five days with the team. The Nuggets will continue to scan the waiver wire.</p> </div></p> http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/...5730112,00.html</p> </p> Also some praise from Karl</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> "I just think he's been impressive. I didn't know what he was before we got him. He was kind of a salary-cap-adjustment player."</p> Karl, on swingman Bobby Jones, who has a partially guaranteed contract but looks primed to stick with the Nuggets for a while.</div></p>
