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Post by rock on Jul 7, 2024 16:18:06 GMT -5
Playoff Rotation of Murray / Westbrook Braun / Trent Jr. MPJ / Watson Gordon / Saric Jokic is going to win it all. I like this roster. Is it even possible? |
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Post by somborshuffle on Jul 7, 2024 16:22:14 GMT -5
Braun and JS as the best options at 2 is making me cry. Keeping mpj is even worse There's only one guard on the entire roster that can shoot; which certainly won't improve if Westbrook signs. That is terrifying. |
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Post by nuggetshipster on Jul 7, 2024 16:27:47 GMT -5
Braun and JS as the best options at 2 is making me cry. Keeping mpj is even worse There's only one guard on the entire roster that can shoot; which certainly won't improve if Westbrook signs. That is terrifying. What guard? |
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Post by Camby's Left Nut on Jul 7, 2024 16:50:17 GMT -5
Playoff Rotation of Murray / Westbrook Braun / Trent Jr. MPJ / Watson Gordon / Saric Jokic is going to win it all. I like this roster. Is it even possible? I don't think getting Gary Trent Jr is realistic anymore, since all we can offer now is the minimum. Maybe a s&t for Zeke would be an option, but definitely not realistic. I could maybe see someone like Reggie Bullock signing for the minimum, but probably not Trent Jr. Even still, I do think the bench and overall rotation has improved from last year. Hopefully the chemistry will be good if Westbrook does end up being the guy. |
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Post by BBBbbb on Jul 7, 2024 16:51:01 GMT -5
Yeah I’m not sure I’m buying it. That story came out last season, after we won a title and were among top two runners for another, while he’s spent his time on dumpster fires. The story at the time of the signing was that the nuggets were offering competitive salary but he wanted to play for a team that has the black community better represented (or however he put it). There was no pushback on this reporting and was reported by quite a few ppl. interview was conducted pre-championship. the story that Grant yearned to play in a black city would have been believable if Grant didn't proceed to sign a 5 year contract with the whitest city in the Union. Portland makes Denver look like Johannesburg. come on bro. the Nuggets and his agent cooked up these stories because it served both parties interest. the Nuggets didn't look like cheapskates and Grant was a pro-black hero who bet on himself and after signing with a bottom feeder. for the love of, KSE was sending out fake news to the media that they matched the Magic's offer lol. when someone tells who they are, believe them. Like I said - I'm not sure I'm buying it, did not explicitly put it as I'm not buying it. Somehow I got the timeline wrong and thought this came after the title. Nevertheless you can also make an argument he was changing the story for the interview because you might not want to talk that black ownership story while playing in Portland... He did not seem to mind all those empowerment articles popping up at the time... So honestly I don't care, we got AG and we got a title.
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Post by eathb on Jul 7, 2024 18:29:32 GMT -5
I wonder if we have any backup plan for Westbrook if the deal falls through?
Like Clippers have no reason to trade him to us for free or waive him.
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Post by Camby's Left Nut on Jul 7, 2024 19:51:15 GMT -5
I wonder if we have any backup plan for Westbrook if the deal falls through? Like Clippers have no reason to trade him to us for free or waive him. For the Clippers right now I think the biggest reason is because they need the extra roster spot. Including him they'd be at 16 players, although I don't know if the Kris Dunn thing is official yet. So it feels like the most likely scenario is that the Jazz would s&t Dunn to LA for Westbrook and a 2nd rounder or something. Would save the Clippers from having to waive him and carry that dead cap, and the Jazz need to add some salary to their payroll anyway. Then from there the Jazz waive him (for the 2nd time) and we can sign him for the minimum instead of the slightly higher number he is currently signed to. Maybe there is a scenario where we could be involved in the trade and he comes directly here without being waived, but that feels less likely right now and probably less advantageous to us...unless the Jazz or another team would want to take on Zeke in the deal. That said if for some reason it did fall through, there are still a number of pretty decent to mediocre backup PG options out there. Lowry, Fultz, Jones, Payne, Beverley, Graham, DSJ, Dinwiddie, etc. So worst case it's not like we'd be left with only Pickett to backup Murray. |
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Post by rock on Jul 7, 2024 20:24:33 GMT -5
Jones would be my top choice
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Post by Camby's Left Nut on Jul 7, 2024 20:39:11 GMT -5
Tyus Jones is by far the best PG still out there. Probably the best free agent still available overall, honestly. Kind of surprising he hasn't been signed yet, but I imagine he'll almost certainly get the full MLE from somebody. Even if he did end up being forced into a minimum contract, I doubt he'd want to come here and be Murray's backup when he could easily find a better opportunity for more playing time somewhere else.
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Post by duh88 on Jul 7, 2024 20:49:20 GMT -5
Why are we rewriting history on Jerami Grant?
KSE offered him a solid contract (I believe more than Detroit). Grant even agreed to it - the signature was scheduled to happen. A few reporters even reported it was a done deal.
Then grant had a massive u-turn. Maybe he was waiting on Detroit? Main thing is that - grant wanted to play for a bottom feeder and be the first option. Playing in the East was also critical, as it heavily increases the chances of an all star selection.
Grant did become a bonafide 20 ppg player, which doesn’t happen if he stays in Denver. Grant isn’t talented enough to keep up with Murray and Jokic. His game is super slow. While he can score 20 ppg, he has to do it as option 1. MPJ can average 20 ppg as option 3, and without the drama. And yes, grant can shoot 3’s, but the few times he’s made the playoffs, those 3-point percentages nose-dived.
No one chose mpj over grant - every effort was made to keep grant (with mpj). Grant wanted to be option one on a mediocre east team - that’s all there is to it.
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Post by duh88 on Jul 7, 2024 20:50:16 GMT -5
Booth defiantly dismissing the bones of the title team in favor of his pet draft projects better work, or he genuinely should be shown the door after this year. Hearing guys wanted to stay and didn't even get a counter is just awful stuff. It would be one thing if it just couldn't work, but this guy is in love with his own draft evals. If you operate like you're smarter than everybody and say it openly, you better actually be. I hope he is. Question: did you watch KCP’s defense against Edwards? Second question: did you watch Braun’s defense on Edwards? I know it’s fun to s**t all over kse and Calvin - but kcp got man-handled on defense in the playoffs. Calvin’s picks (Braun and PWat) are our two best defensive players, on the other hand. I hate to see kcp leave - will always love him - but we needed better wing defenders on the floor, even if we have to do it by forcing malone’s hand. The saved money is going towards a good bench. Win-win. |
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Post by game on Jul 7, 2024 22:15:23 GMT -5
Booth defiantly dismissing the bones of the title team in favor of his pet draft projects better work, or he genuinely should be shown the door after this year. Hearing guys wanted to stay and didn't even get a counter is just awful stuff. It would be one thing if it just couldn't work, but this guy is in love with his own draft evals. If you operate like you're smarter than everybody and say it openly, you better actually be. I hope he is. Question: did you watch KCP’s defense against Edwards? Second question: did you watch Braun’s defense on Edwards? I know it’s fun to s**t all over kse and Calvin - but kcp got man-handled on defense in the playoffs. Calvin’s picks (Braun and PWat) are our two best defensive players, on the other hand. I hate to see kcp leave - will always love him - but we needed better wing defenders on the floor, even if we have to do it by forcing malone’s hand. The saved money is going towards a good bench. Win-win. I've also seen Christian Braun attempt to dribble and shoot and it's mostly rough. He's a hustle player. For the majority of the season last year I thought he was pretty bad, because he was scared to shoot. Whole different ballgame starting. If he can't shoot 40% at volume this starting unit will be significantly worse. Time will tell. What if Braun or Porter or Watson get hurt? Strawther is an unknown and they have zero other wings. Russ as the 2? A big playing on the wing? Woof. |
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Post by eathb on Jul 7, 2024 22:17:13 GMT -5
If Braun and Strawther don't work out, we move at the trade deadline
Relax.
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Post by game on Jul 7, 2024 22:19:55 GMT -5
If Braun and Strawther don't work out, we move at the trade deadline Relax. We move what at the deadline? They have four total wings on the roster, one proven starter quality in MPJ. 8 bigs. That's completely disconnected from playoff reality. Feels all about forcing Strawther to play, but it's a silly game. You need more than one more. |
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Post by inyourmind on Jul 7, 2024 22:44:39 GMT -5
Why are we rewriting history on Jerami Grant? Yeah he was offered an insane opportunity in Detroit. He had talked about it in interviews. For what it's worth it was also speculated he wanted to be somewhere with a big role during his next contract and signed with the Blazers. I just don't think Grant was gonna sacrifice role/a single dollar to win. KCP situation is different IMO. If CB doesn't thrive Denver will rightfully get crushed. |
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Post by inyourmind on Jul 7, 2024 22:51:39 GMT -5
Pretty nervous about the direction of the team. On one hand KSE has a history of success and the Nuggets FO has done well no matter who comes and goes. They've been successful. I see the upside of loving your own projects. It'll certainly add years to the championship window. Just a huge gamble when you have a player like Jokic. Rolling the dice with a talent like Jokic probably shouldn't have been the first choice.
Honestly from the players to the FO it's all just felt like overconfidence since the championship.
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Post by famicommander on Jul 7, 2024 23:20:32 GMT -5
If Braun and Strawther don't work out, we move at the trade deadline Relax. We absolutely need more than 4 main roster guards before the season starts. That's non-negotiable. Right now the main roster guards are Murray, Pickett, Braun, and Strawther. That's it. Beyond them you're trying to cram a 6'8" forward like Watson or Cancar into a guard role, or playing a two-way significant regular season minutes and then not being able to use him in the playoffs like we did with Reed and Gillespie these last few seasons. And unless Pickett's ball skills are drastically better when the season starts than they were last year, he's not a rotation quality NBA player at the moment. The open main roster spot has to go to a guard, the open two-way spot has to go to a guard or small forward, and hopefully Tyson and/or Nnaji's roster spots can be turned into another guard too. We should have 6 main roster guards when the regular season starts. We can't wait for the trade deadline to rectify it. These last few years we all hoped we could find a backup center at the deadline and we couldn't. Last season we didn't even get anybody, and the season prior we got Bryant who couldn't even supplant Jordan as the emergency option. We can't keep making the same mistake. The trade deadline should be a course correction option if what we tried this offseason doesn't work. It shouldn't be plan A to fill out the depth chart. So far we've replaced KCP, Holiday, Reggie, and Gillespie with a rookie two-way point guard. That's alarming. Last year's 3 point percentages: 1. Murray - 43% 2. KCP - 41% (gone) 3. Holiday - 40% (gone) 4. Key - 40% (gone; low sample size) 5. Porter - 40% 6. Gillespie - 40% (gone) 7. Braun - 38% 8. Pickett - 36% 9. Jokic - 36% 10. Reggie - 36% (gone) |
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Post by Camby's Left Nut on Jul 7, 2024 23:21:59 GMT -5
Pretty nervous about the direction of the team. On one hand KSE has a history of success and the Nuggets FO has done well no matter who comes and goes. They've been successful. I see the upside of loving your own projects. It'll certainly add years to the championship window. Just a huge gamble when you have a player like Jokic. Rolling the dice with a talent like Jokic probably shouldn't have been the first choice. Honestly from the players to the FO it's all just felt like overconfidence since the championship. I agree it's definitely a gamble, but I also think it was probably the right decision. Keeping KCP at that number would've made it hard to retain Gordon next summer. Part of me thought it'd have been worthwhile just to keep him and then trade him down the line if needed, but then trades when in the 2nd apron become nearly impossible anyway. Spending that kind of money on a 5th starter is tough, especially when the bench has already been such an issue and KCP was basically a nonfactor in the playoffs as it was. Having to rely completely on veterans taking the minimum to improve is a massive gamble, and we'll see how well Boston manages it going forward. They have no depth in their frontcourt already, and Horford is 38 years old and Porzingis is incredibly injury prone. All these 2nd apron restrictions are brand new and we don't fully know how much of an effect it'll actually have in practice. But the fact that so many FOs seem worried enough about it to alter the way they would normally operate says quite a bit to me. |
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Post by GBG on Jul 7, 2024 23:37:12 GMT -5
Question: did you watch KCP’s defense against Edwards? Second question: did you watch Braun’s defense on Edwards? I know it’s fun to s**t all over kse and Calvin - but kcp got man-handled on defense in the playoffs. Calvin’s picks (Braun and PWat) are our two best defensive players, on the other hand. I hate to see kcp leave - will always love him - but we needed better wing defenders on the floor, even if we have to do it by forcing malone’s hand. The saved money is going towards a good bench. Win-win. I've also seen Christian Braun attempt to dribble and shoot and it's mostly rough. He's a hustle player. For the majority of the season last year I thought he was pretty bad, because he was scared to shoot. Whole different ballgame starting. If he can't shoot 40% at volume this starting unit will be significantly worse. Time will tell. What if Braun or Porter or Watson get hurt? Strawther is an unknown and they have zero other wings. Russ as the 2? A big playing on the wing? Woof. I bolded your one comment/prediction as it doesn’t make any sense. You are holding CB to a higher standard than KCP. Pope never shot “at volume”. Sure, he was a 40% 3PT shooter, but at very low usage. The starting five should be as good or better with CB instead of KCP, even if CB shoots like he did last year at similar volume to last season. That’s because starting unit will have even more size and youthful energy on defensive end with CB starting over KCP. The trouble spot is the bench, specifically backcourt shooting. As it stands, and assuming RW is added, we might have the worst shooting backcourt bench players, collectively, in the NBA. Until Strawther shows me he can shoot more than 35% from 3, I will stand by this opinion. The lack of 3PT shooting in general is a real team weakness, but it emanates with the bench now that CB is pencilled in as starting 2. Not adding a real marksman guard who’s playable for postseason this summer after losing KCP is negligent, if this doesn’t change. |
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Post by inyourmind on Jul 7, 2024 23:48:56 GMT -5
Pretty nervous about the direction of the team. On one hand KSE has a history of success and the Nuggets FO has done well no matter who comes and goes. They've been successful. I see the upside of loving your own projects. It'll certainly add years to the championship window. Just a huge gamble when you have a player like Jokic. Rolling the dice with a talent like Jokic probably shouldn't have been the first choice. Honestly from the players to the FO it's all just felt like overconfidence since the championship. I agree it's definitely a gamble, but I also think it was probably the right decision. Keeping KCP at that number would've made it hard to retain Gordon next summer. Part of me thought it'd have been worthwhile just to keep him and then trade him down the line if needed, but then trades when in the 2nd apron become nearly impossible anyway. Spending that kind of money on a 5th starter is tough, especially when the bench has already been such an issue and KCP was basically a nonfactor in the playoffs as it was. Having to rely completely on veterans taking the minimum to improve is a massive gamble, and we'll see how well Boston manages it going forward. They have no depth in their frontcourt already, and Horford is 38 years old and Porzingis is incredibly injury prone. All these 2nd apron restrictions are brand new and we don't fully know how much of an effect it'll actually have in practice. But the fact that so many FOs seem worried enough about it to alter the way they would normally operate says quite a bit to me. All valid points. I do think it's possible we look back in a couple of months and are happy with the choice. KCP had a tough playoffs and CB has alot of traits that should make him thrive as a starter. If the KCP situation was a one off than I don't think it'd be as concerning. The thing that makes me nervous is how it seems to be a consistent theme lately. If you had to pick one spot on the roster to make a gamble than CB starting for KCP is the best bet at this point. I just don't like how so far they've gambled with the rest of the guards. Once/If the Nuggets get a guard than I think it'll be easier to relax. If the Nuggets vision is Strawer/Pickett/CB as the guards behind Murray than that's a wildly cocky move by them. At that point I think you just pay KCP and fight it out with Malone about the minutes if you want the young guys getting a look. Deal with the 2nd apron issue later on and just focus on winning another ring next year. If the gamble fails the Nuggets deserved to get smoked. I really like CB and think he can thrive with more responsibility but if the opposite happens and Strawther doesn't take a step and Watson plateaus were straight up fucked. Zero expectations for Pickett lol Even Westbrook with his inability to shoot is going to come with some risks. Nuggets just need to sign/trade for a legitimate NBA rotation guard and the offseason looks less ugly IMO. |
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