Can Nuggets Re-Build Around Melo?

Shapecity · Sep 22, 2008

If ever there was a more focused example of the idiom 'players don't win games, teams do', one would be hard-pressed to find it. The Nuggets have spent years trotting out star-studded lineups that included some of the most electrifying scorers in the NBA (Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson) and one of the most dominating rebounders and shot blockers (Marcus Camby), and yet they have nothing to show for it but first-round playoff knockouts.

After five straight early exits, team owner Stan Kronke got fed up with overpaying an underwhelming roster and demanded cost-cutting measures be taken this summer. In one fell swoop, the Nuggets fell off the map when the abided the owners demands and shipped Camby to the Clippers for the right to swap second-round picks.

That deal also reminds one of another popular saying; 'basketball is a business'. For all of the harping that has been echoing throughout NBA corridors over the Camby trade, it was actually a smart business move. This team wasn't going anywhere with its bloated salary cap and mismatched roster. They were paying big-dollars in tax money and not reaping the benefit of multiple playoff rounds to offset it.

Sure, from a purist's perspective, it's hard to see one of the league's best centres exported without anything to show for it in return, but from a reasonable business perspective, it was an impossible trade to pass up. If a product is being sold at a loss, then it is up to a company to find a way to cut costs. This team wasn't going anywhere with Camby (or with Iverson or Nene or Kenyon Martin) and so, the quicker they can find a way to streamline this roster, the quicker they can get back to competitive basketball in April.

The crux of that rebuilding effort has to centre on Anthony. One look at his production in the summertime with Team USA and people can see just how good he can be on a balanced roster. It doesn't mean the Nuggets need Dwight Howard and LeBron James to bring out the best in Anthony, just that they need to find players that better compliment his abilities and better shield his deficiencies.

Anthony is a tremendous scorer; he can shoot, drive, post-up, finish with finesse, finish with power and he finished last season with a career-high in three-point shooting (35.4%). Pairing him with another prolific scorer in Iverson was a mistake from the outset. He needs to be surrounded by a heady point guard, a couple of efficient shooters and (yes, sadly) a defensive-minded centre. He's a better defender when his teammates commit to it (no one in Denver currently does) and so having a roster that puts forth an effort on defense would be welcome additions, too.

However, Denver is a long way from that. Right now they are a team stuck in transition. Clearly, they don't have the tools to be competitive this year (they were a borderline playoff team with Camby on the roster), but they don't have the assets or cap room to make any significant changes. Their best hope is that either someone wants to pick up Iverson's massive expiring contract ($22 million) and is willing to give them useable assets in return (ideally a real point guard) or they let him walk, absorb the savings and try to get under the cap next summer to sign a free agent.

Those hopes, though, would only marginally help this team. Forwards Nene and Martin will be making a combined $24 million this season yet combined they barely make up the stats of even an above-average, let alone top-tier, power forward. Both are constant injury risks and remain perhaps the two most untradeable players in the entire NBA. Both have contracts that run through the summer of 2010 when a bushel of impact free agents hit the market, which is made all the more alarming when one considers that Anthony can opt out of his contract the following summer.

That basically means that this team will not have the financial leverage to improve this team measurably without Nene and/or Martin retiring or the Nuggets being able to find some team interested in absorbing their salaries in a trade. For all of the talk of LeBron being the sure-fire young gun to depart his rookie team in free agency, no one is talking about Anthony and the mess down in Denver. If this team can't find some way to import some serious talent on the cheap, it would be hard to see why Anthony would want to sign up for another tour of duty in the Mile High city.

With or without Camby, this team wasn't really relevant, but now that this team has traded him they are officially in the throws of rebuilding. There is no worse place for a franchise to be than in the dismantling phase of a reclamation project. Fans sour on the team on a downward slope, the media chastises every move that appears to tear the team farther away from winning and the players tend to lose all faith in the organization for which they play. Welcome to the Nuggets 2008-2009, where even progress is ripped as mercilessly as another first-round exit.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP

PG - Chucky Atkins
For all of the bluster about salary cap and the Camby trade, perhaps no issue surrounding this team better encapsulates their standing as their point guard 'battle' between Chucky Atkins and Anthony Carter. On any playoff team, either one of these guys would be looked at as a weak backup. In Denver, they are duking it out for the right to lead the offence. They're both undersized, can't shoot and have marginal playmaking abilities. The only thing that could make this better is that neither one is particularly adept at staying healthy. Expect to see plenty of Iverson at the point this winter.

SG - Allen Iverson
One of the most intriguing and underrepresented storylines going into this season is the long-term fate of Allen Iverson. While at 33 he's hardly got eons left in the NBA, he's still a very effective basketball player and he could do wonders to put some big-spending team over the top this spring. If he winds up staying with the Nuggets all year and is put on the open market next summer, he could be THE most sought-after player for elite-level teams hoping to sign him on the cheap by appealing to a desire to win a title before he retires. It would be in his personal best interest to take it easy in Denver this year because he still has one more contract in him before he retires and if he's healthy, he's going to have his pick of the litter next summer. This season? Unless he's traded, it's not really relevant.

SF - Carmelo Anthony
It will be a real test of Anthony's character to see how he handles a rebuilding project. He's been in the playoffs every year of his NBA career and was a NCAA champion in his only year at Syracuse, so it will be very interesting to see how losing treats his oft-criticized demeanor. He's one of the best players in basketball but he's stuck in a situation that barely suits his game (a testament to how good he is that he's still so dominant). Anthony would be better served playing a slower-paced game with more guys interested in getting him open rather than competing with him for shots. Until that day arrives, however, Anthony will be asked to ply his trade on an increasingly talentless club while management gets their act together and builds a team to suit their superstar's talents, not impede them.

PF - Kenyon Martin
Martin played in 71 games last year, the most he's played since 2003. He's the team's starting power forward now and if he gets injured, Linas Kleiza steps into this spot and the team has no backup 'four'. That is a very distinct possibility for this team and it underlines how painful Martin's $14 million salary really is. While Phoenix gets Amare Stoudemire for that amount and Toronto gets Chris Bosh, the Nuggets are stuck paying one-quarter of their salary cap to a guy they can't even be sure will be able to play the position all year. Even if he can, his 8.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game will be wholly below-par for what this team needs from Martin this season.

C - Nene
Nene has averaged 34 games per year the last four years. He is recovering from testicular cancer (most recently) and has been thrust into a must-start role with the departure of Marcus Camby. He has a history of weight problems and his on-court motivation is as up in the air as it's ever been. It may be prudent to start journeyman Stephen Hunter here and let Nene come off of the bench where his production wouldn't be as scrutinized as he eases back into the NBA game. It isn't really like this team is going to be chasing wins all that hard, anyway.
Click to expand...

Source: TSN

cpawfan · Sep 22, 2008

Damn, that was a horrible preview and I won't even mention the vast overrating of Camby and his (lack of) importance to the Nuggets.

For the morons at TSN, a $10 Million Trade Exception is an asset

Kenyon averaged 12.4 PPG in the regular season which included an expected slow start (14.5 PPG in Feb and 15.1 PPG in March)

There is no mention in the preview of the Nuggets second most important player, JR Smith.

Answer_AI03 · Sep 23, 2008

They should at least try starting AI and Smith at the guard spots in pre-season to see how it goes. i really think the starting 5 on this team will be great, with Kleiza coming off the bench as the sixth man. However, this team really is going nowhere until after this season when AI leaves.

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Can Nuggets Re-Build Around Melo?

Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

cpawfan Monsters do exist

Answer_AI03 JBB JustBBall Member

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Can Nuggets Re-Build Around Melo?

Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

cpawfan Monsters do exist

Answer_AI03 JBB JustBBall Member

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