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Post by jacksalmon on Jul 1, 2024 12:29:12 GMT -5
Hefty extensions and good vibes given to players whom haven't earned it yet, have fucked us tremendously. As they said on the podcast. Overpaying MPJ by 10-15 million. Overpaying Jamal by at least 5 million. Giving player options left and right instead of team options. Giving "bet" deals on players that havent prove a thing (Zeke). Consider all of the above we could have easily kept KCP without going in the 2nd apron + the cap space to sign proven vets on MLE/TPMLE etc. The line of communication and decision making from Josh Kroenke to Calvin Booth to Michael Malone is an utter embarrassment for any NBA team yet for a championship team with the 3 time MVP/Best player in the world in his prime. OK, I get it. Not only are they depleted with personnel and are down to two good players; two part-timers and a bunch of trash fillers; the front office doesn't know what it is doing also. I guess that is why the roster is so messed up. I guess we'll just have to find another team to cheer for. But, that is not easy as one really cannot switch loyalty with any enthusiasm. Also, it is hard to follow the playoffs with real enthusiasm when one knows it is hopeless for one's favorite team. Welcome to the real world, Nugget fans. The good times are over. |
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Post by JB on Jul 1, 2024 12:37:22 GMT -5
Delon Wright to Milwaukee for the vet min These are the signings that piss me off. Milwaukee has no cap space yet keeps getting rotation players. And don’t tell me Milwaukee is a better city than denver Just inexcusable how bad the front office is  does Denver have walking tours for serial killers? I didn't think so. |
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Post by game on Jul 1, 2024 12:38:52 GMT -5
The team is going to be good this year. The problem is we just saw how fine the margins are in the playoffs, and ideally you're tweaking to improve on last year's team/performance where you can because it wasn't good enough last year. They couldn't do anything about Bruce. Losing KCP was avoidable, and now they're worse than last year, while much of the west is better. And they weren't good enough last year.
I don't think the shooting or defense project to be good enough to win four playoff series, but time will tell. I thought the shooting failed them badly last year, and they're going to be significantly worse this year. Operation load the paint will be in full effect.
If Braun isn't a 40% 3 point shooter on high volume, no chance. And then you talk about who can actually contribute in the playoffs from the projected bench group.
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Post by JB on Jul 1, 2024 12:41:37 GMT -5
I'm holding out hope GTJ is the July surprise. we'll be "KCP who?" after Gary is knocking down 40% of his 3s on Klay volume.
let's go #teamoptimism
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Post by game on Jul 1, 2024 12:46:02 GMT -5
One more thing, assuming Westbrook/Vlakto/Saric are the final three roster spots.
Malone is going to have to heavily lean into a bumpy beginning of the season. It's unavoidable, and the unforgivable sin will be leaning on the top guys heavily to win in December. Last year proven how overrated homecourt has become. You have to turn into the skid in the early season. That probably means letting a few young guys figure it out, lineup combinations sorting themselves out, etc.
You cannot cannot cannot cannot overplay the four starters. Cannot. You kind of need a couple of these young guys to pop at least to the level Watson did last year. Strawther, in particular, you really need to find a niche in the rotation given the shooting situation you've put yourself in.
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Post by Ring on Jul 1, 2024 12:47:44 GMT -5
The team is going to be good this year. The problem is we just saw how fine the margins are in the playoffs, and ideally you're tweaking to improve on last year's team/performance where you can because it wasn't good enough last year. They couldn't do anything about Bruce. Losing KCP was avoidable, and now they're worse than last year, while much of the west is better. And they weren't good enough last year. I don't think the shooting or defense project to be good enough to win four playoff series, but time will tell. I thought the shooting failed them badly last year, and they're going to be significantly worse this year. Operation load the paint will be in full effect. If Braun isn't a 40% 3 point shooter on high volume, no chance. And then you talk about who can actually contribute in the playoffs from the projected bench group. I understand your overall point and agree with it but again, the Nuggets lost in the playoffs because of Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray. It starts and ends there. Murray against Minnesota - 18/4/4 on 40/33 splits. MPJ against Minnesota - 11/6/1 on 37/33 shooting. You could take the Championship Nuggets team with Bruce and Jeff and they still aren't going to win a series against Minnesota with the 2 "stars" playing that poorly. Losing KCP will not be the difference in winning a Championship or not. If the Nuggets stars perform (no idea why anyone would expect this from MPJ), they'll probably win it all. |
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Post by scooter on Jul 1, 2024 12:51:13 GMT -5
I'm holding out hope GTJ is the July surprise. we'll be "KCP who?" after Gary is knocking down 40% of his 3s on Klay volume. let's go #teamoptimism Trent would be awesome, although it is unlikely in the same way that Brown was unlikely 2 years ago. And it would definitely be only for 1 year too, if it is at all feasible. It would require Trent to fall through some free agency cracks and then decide to bet on himself on a 1 year deal hoping to expand his value for next year. It’s a longshot whether Trent or some other player in that category. But IMO, the Nuggets desperately need a couple of proven NBA guards. |
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Post by scooter on Jul 1, 2024 12:56:23 GMT -5
The team is going to be good this year. The problem is we just saw how fine the margins are in the playoffs, and ideally you're tweaking to improve on last year's team/performance where you can because it wasn't good enough last year. They couldn't do anything about Bruce. Losing KCP was avoidable, and now they're worse than last year, while much of the west is better. And they weren't good enough last year. I don't think the shooting or defense project to be good enough to win four playoff series, but time will tell. I thought the shooting failed them badly last year, and they're going to be significantly worse this year. Operation load the paint will be in full effect. If Braun isn't a 40% 3 point shooter on high volume, no chance. And then you talk about who can actually contribute in the playoffs from the projected bench group. There is no way Braun is a high volume three point shooter. He’s not a movement shooter and also can’t shoot off the dribble. It’s absurd to ask or expect him to suddenly be something entirely different than what he’s been. |
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Post by JB on Jul 1, 2024 12:58:59 GMT -5
Braun can shoot, he just needs the reps to shoot with confidence. all I want from Malone is to tell him he needs to go from 2 3PA to 4 3PA every game. that's it, and eventually he'll be more confident shooting semi-open 3s. he certainly is going to get more opportunities now.
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Post by game on Jul 1, 2024 13:05:14 GMT -5
The team is going to be good this year. The problem is we just saw how fine the margins are in the playoffs, and ideally you're tweaking to improve on last year's team/performance where you can because it wasn't good enough last year. They couldn't do anything about Bruce. Losing KCP was avoidable, and now they're worse than last year, while much of the west is better. And they weren't good enough last year. I don't think the shooting or defense project to be good enough to win four playoff series, but time will tell. I thought the shooting failed them badly last year, and they're going to be significantly worse this year. Operation load the paint will be in full effect. If Braun isn't a 40% 3 point shooter on high volume, no chance. And then you talk about who can actually contribute in the playoffs from the projected bench group. There is no way Braun is a high volume three point shooter. He’s not a movement shooter and also can’t shoot off the dribble. It’s absurd to ask or expect him to suddenly be something entirely different than what he’s been. That's my point. |
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Post by scooter on Jul 1, 2024 13:06:32 GMT -5
Braun can shoot, he just needs the reps to shoot with confidence. all I want from Malone is to tell him he needs to go from 2 3PA to 4 3PA every game. that's it, and eventually he'll be more confident shooting semi-open 3s. I agree he’ll be able to hit stand still threes at a decent rate. Some NBA centers can do that. But I’ll continue to believe the Nuggets need a few guards who can shoot off the dribble. |
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Post by scooter on Jul 1, 2024 13:08:26 GMT -5
Boom — it’s a little off topic, but suddenly the Celtics are for sale.
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Post by JB on Jul 1, 2024 13:10:02 GMT -5
have a feeling the Saudi's are going to swoop in and offer an obscenely high price for a legacy team like the Celtics.
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Post by game on Jul 1, 2024 13:11:45 GMT -5
Right after Cuban sold the team he said he'd never sell. Me thinks we've probably reached the TV money peak, and these guys know it.
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Post by game on Jul 1, 2024 13:13:51 GMT -5
The team is going to be good this year. The problem is we just saw how fine the margins are in the playoffs, and ideally you're tweaking to improve on last year's team/performance where you can because it wasn't good enough last year. They couldn't do anything about Bruce. Losing KCP was avoidable, and now they're worse than last year, while much of the west is better. And they weren't good enough last year. I don't think the shooting or defense project to be good enough to win four playoff series, but time will tell. I thought the shooting failed them badly last year, and they're going to be significantly worse this year. Operation load the paint will be in full effect. If Braun isn't a 40% 3 point shooter on high volume, no chance. And then you talk about who can actually contribute in the playoffs from the projected bench group. I understand your overall point and agree with it but again, the Nuggets lost in the playoffs because of Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray. It starts and ends there. Murray against Minnesota - 18/4/4 on 40/33 splits. MPJ against Minnesota - 11/6/1 on 37/33 shooting. You could take the Championship Nuggets team with Bruce and Jeff and they still aren't going to win a series against Minnesota with the 2 "stars" playing that poorly. Losing KCP will not be the difference in winning a Championship or not. If the Nuggets stars perform (no idea why anyone would expect this from MPJ), they'll probably win it all. Playoffs are all about optionality and problem solving. You're willingly reducing the cards you have to play. I'm sure having even fewer functional playoff players will help those two next year as the defense happily concedes shots to anybody else outside of the paint. You can pick out small sample sizes for anybody. I keep reading KCP's shooting splits for the Minnesota series like that's proof he sucks as a shooter or something so Braun will actually be no different. It's silly. |
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Post by game on Jul 1, 2024 13:25:32 GMT -5
On a positive note, Mares did make an argument that Westbrook's presence could be a positive for Jamal and his propensity to float in and out. I actually think that's interesting.
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Post by wizardofcozz on Jul 1, 2024 13:28:22 GMT -5
Boston top 6 is very good! Their issue is that Horford is old, and KcP is injury prone. True isn't getting any younger either. They are locked into this roster without much ability to improve it. IF they take any injuries to their guards they will be in trouble. They handled the KP injury because Horford played so well. If it happens again or someone else goes down, they won't have an ability to fix it. The Nuggets aren't in the second apron, and I'm going to spoil for you now they will not be able to fix it if a key guy goes down. The top of the league is too good and those moves do not exist midseason. And if they did, the Nuggets have one tradeable draft pick and zero realistic matching salary that's not a negative. If you double down on 11 and you're dealt a 4, you can't hit again! This is all playing the odds the best you can. There is no fix for losing key players if you have a top heavy salary structure like Denver or Boston or Minnesota has, unless you have significant draft pick equity or highly desired cheap players. Buyout guys (and if you remember you're limited to only buyout guys who were on cheap contracts because of the first apron) and aggregating Zeke and Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett will get you absolutely nothing. We're not required to believe this nonsense. You're stuck once you go all in on big contracts for your top guys. Going into the second apron for the Nuggets right now changes basically nothing about how they'll approach this season. you can't aggregate salaries once you go 2md apron that's a huge negative reason not to go into it. |
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Post by wizardofcozz on Jul 1, 2024 13:29:13 GMT -5
I told you earlier both LA teams are way under the cap. Where are you getting this from? You can look up each teams salaries. |
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Post by Dante on Jul 1, 2024 13:34:23 GMT -5
OKC,Mavs,Wolves ............................................................................................Denver?
Klay to Mavs on 3/50
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Post by game on Jul 1, 2024 13:42:07 GMT -5
The Nuggets aren't in the second apron, and I'm going to spoil for you now they will not be able to fix it if a key guy goes down. The top of the league is too good and those moves do not exist midseason. And if they did, the Nuggets have one tradeable draft pick and zero realistic matching salary that's not a negative. If you double down on 11 and you're dealt a 4, you can't hit again! This is all playing the odds the best you can. There is no fix for losing key players if you have a top heavy salary structure like Denver or Boston or Minnesota has, unless you have significant draft pick equity or highly desired cheap players. Buyout guys (and if you remember you're limited to only buyout guys who were on cheap contracts because of the first apron) and aggregating Zeke and Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett will get you absolutely nothing. We're not required to believe this nonsense. You're stuck once you go all in on big contracts for your top guys. Going into the second apron for the Nuggets right now changes basically nothing about how they'll approach this season. you can't aggregate salaries once you go 2md apron that's a huge negative reason not to go into it. The Nuggets haven't aggregated salaries in two years they've been allowed to. They don't have salaries to aggregate to get to any meaningful number. A $22m KCP salary means you don't have to string together 6 guys to get to $15m. You can trade his salary when you're ready to do so. No aggregation required. |
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