Linas Kleiza, the man I wish we hadn't traded for Jarret Jack, is apparently thisclose to leaving Denver for Greece. His agent, via hoopshype: Now, if The Player leaves Denver, this is a plus for us. Linas killed us every time we played them, and with no end to Travis Outlaw in sight, I would imagine Linas would keep it up. Denver made no substantial improvements this off season, so losing Linas would be a significant hit. Let's hope a little lack of depth for them and our new (old) PG will vault us past them in the NW.
I'm surprised. Maybe he just has good games against the Blazers or something because there doesn't seem to be much interest around the NBA for him.
It's amazing to see he can't get any offer, yet you look at the type of deal Nocioni got/has. Kleiza isn't worth 5 years, 20 million? Maybe he wouldn't sign that, I dunno. I'm just surprised nobody has gone after him.
I spend most of the year in Denver and have watched my fair share of Thugget games. Kleiza is a huge piece off their bench. When they went on their winning streak when 'Melo hurt his hand, who filled in? Linas. I just don't get what Warkentien is thinking. Perhaps they're waiting for someone else to negotiate a deal with him then they'll come to him with a comparable one.
I think he played a big part in their success last year. I don't know what he ended up averaging, but I know he came up big for them in some key games down the stretch. I'll be very happy if he is indeed leaving!
Yea I was more or less just referring to the fact that Melo plays most of the minutes there, but I guess when I think back now, I did see times where he was out on the floor with some odd "Sized" lineups, basically just being a person who put pressure on the D by bringing shooting to the floor. The thing is, I see Denver as a team that has one of the same problems the Blazers do. When they shoot too many 3's they lose. The thing is, if you don't have enough outside shooting, you lose too.
I've always thought of him as a great shooter. I was surprised to see he hit threes a .327 clip last year. I guess I can see why they aren't bending over backwards to retain him.
