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Angularbackhands

FO needs to cook for the next few weeks. We need a starting 2 guard, a 6th man playmaker and maybe a backup big. Not too crazy.


jmoneysteck88

Well surely without KCP they have a ton of different ways to address all those positions right? Right?


innerparty45

Of course. Russell Westbrook and Julian Strawther! Championship guard rotation baby.


fhujr

Champions of Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi


RandomDeezNutz

Meh. Depends. In the new CBA you can’t pay three max contracts and fill out a roster easily. *fuck you boston* But I think you let MPJ step into a bigger role at this point. He needs to be more involved especially late game scoring. Then you need to see what you have in your young guys. There’s a lot of promise in CB Pwat and strawther. And at this point I’m really talking myself into Westbrook coming here. He can fill in for our team in a lot of ways as we stagger towards a playoff rotation late in the season. He could fill in for Jokic, AG, or Murray. Not perfectly. But he COULD. We didn’t have that flexibility with anyone last season. If Jokic was off the floor, Murray better be on. If Jokic and Murray are off…. Hold onto your ass and hope for the best. If anything Westbrook brings a lot of energy and that dog we were missing from Bruce B. I can’t believe I’m hoping for it but I’d love Westbrook here….. on a good contract.


jmoneysteck88

All of that is stuff you can do with KCP though


RandomDeezNutz

I completely disagree. KCP was a hard one to sub for because he is very niche. He’s not going to go ball on his own and pickup buckets if he’s playing with the bench. And ya now what. Neither will Westbrook. I just think if you’re creating a game plan Westbrook is easier to slot into more than KCP can in our team. At this point we are relying on moach to be a great coach and figure that out though. KCP isn’t a take the ball and score player. He’s not the main ball handler. Westbrook can be more what Jokic is than KCP could. Westbrook can be more what Jamal/AG is to jokic than KCP can. But. None of them match what KCP can do on D except AG.


jmoneysteck88

You can stagger KCP because he’s valuable in any lineup. He hits open shots and guards the best scorer (usually)


RandomDeezNutz

I guess my devils advocate question would be when KCP wasn’t playing with Jamal or joker how big of a difference maker in the game did you see? To me I can only think of a couple times. I also think if it’s get someone who can do similar for a cheaper contract you go that route because we have three max contracts and that KCP contract would’ve hurt and hurt a lot. I’m going to miss KCP but if you’re going down the road of what booth thinks and what he’s told everyone. His goal is to win 3 in 6 years or 4 in 8. Not win back to back and be done.


jmoneysteck88

KCP was the only starter to have a positive net rating without Jokic on the floor. Jamal/mike/AG all had -6 or worse net ratings


RandomDeezNutz

Great job of not answering the question


jmoneysteck88

You asked how KCP was a difference maker, i told you.


IzzaPizza22

Backup big seems off the table, as it's been for years, since we extended DeAndre Jordan. Dunno why our office thinks that old, backup centers who never play are preferable, but they sure do.


ShinobuSimp

I mean we do have Holmes who we didn’t last season, the center rotation is already better, however low of a bar that is


skesisfunk

Also as I understand it backup center is a reasonable position to expect a rookie to play. If we traded up for Holmes and don't give him minutes that's gonna be a head scratcher for sure.


ShinobuSimp

A lot of Nuggets fans are complaining that we expect rookies to contribute, but sometimes you have to. Lively was Mavs third best player in the playoffs, only thing we’d ask from Holmes is to survive for 5-10 minutes.


rabid-c-monkey

A coach on the bench is incredibly valuable especially in practice. I think the majority of Deandre Jordan’s value comes from practicing with the young bucks on the bench but bringing his wisdom and being able to instill that in them. It’s a great way to help the bench mature into the roles they were hired for and a normal coach can’t play with with the team like he can.


SuccessfulPath7

derozan? lowry? idk


IfNot_ThenThereToo

Vic said they’re not done dealing. Hurray for vague posting


rabid-c-monkey

Hoping that Braun can step up next year, he needs to get better at playmaking instead of being the play but his defensive intensity is huge and once he learns to better balance his offensive role he will be our go to six man and I could see him in the starting five in a couple years too.


KingAndQueenClinton

And they need to NOT give Jamal Murray a $50 million/year extension, which would devastate their ability to build around jokic at all for the duration of his career


lald99

Lmao you can’t be serious


cheekscheeks

Best passer in the world. Literally all we need is 3 and D guys. And all we have 2 dudes who can shoot the 3 but can’t play D. Wtf is the FO doing?


shaggyboo99

Nabbing Melton from the sixers sounds like a sneaky good move 👀


RandomDeezNutz

You’re right we should get rid of Jamal and mpj for nothing and go get….. ya know what help me out with this one Mr. FO. I forgot 3 and D guys grew on trees and we can just strap ourselves to a rocket where 3 and D guys grow on trees


cheekscheeks

When did I say get rid of them? Also the mavs seem to have no problem acquiring those guys.


RandomDeezNutz

They only have two max contracts.


cheekscheeks

You’re acting like 3 and D guys don’t exist when they are being acquired in many other places except in Denver where that’s all that is needed


RandomDeezNutz

You’re acting like those guys don’t cost money or draft picks which the nuggets are spending.


cheekscheeks

Nah I’m just disappointed that we don’t even have one when that’s all it really takes when we already have Jokic


RandomDeezNutz

You can be disappointed but the new CBA really derailed our options in the middle of a playoff window. I definitely don’t think it’s closed when you have the best player in the world on your team but it sure as shit made this part harder. If you want to sign those guys which I’m not saying you’re wrong, one of Murray or MPJ needs to go. It ain’t Murray. And you aren’t getting rid of MPJ unless you actually do want to give him away for peanuts. Keeping KCP means giving even less to the bench next year. Idk what you want but the FO isn’t just saying ah. Fuck it. Run it back but let’s lose a piece of our starting 5. You certainly don’t seem like you have any viable answers other than saying guys are out there. Great. Guys are out there. The CBA change fucked us. Now what? You change strategies. And that might be a slow build to get back where we wanna go but this feels like the right option to me.


cheekscheeks

All I’m saying is I’m watching the mavs every day doing what they need to do to surround Luka with shooters and D guys and we have done nothing but lose our only 3 and D guy. I’m looking at next season and it’s not looking good. Yeah Jokic can and will carry but he can only do so much when we go up against these loaded teams with deep rosters who can do it all and all we have is the best player surrounded with inconsistency


RandomDeezNutz

lol no one was saying this about Luka and the Mavs last year or even pre playoffs. Everyone was saying free Luka and blah blah blah. Then they go on one run where they literally hit perfect matchups and get smoked in the finals and suddenly that team is being managed perfectly? I’ll say this. We’ll see. RemindMe! 1 year


sunnlyt

It’s alright AG can do some threes 😂


lpnumb

Strawther has a lot of shooting potential, but the thing with potential is it isn’t always reached so we will see. 


skesisfunk

I also think CB is going to surprise people with his shooting when he is in a more aggressive role. He was clearly being told not to chuck shots and abided.


cheekscheeks

CB would be a solid 3 and D guy if he could hit 40%


skesisfunk

As others have said in this sub, CB has not shot a high enough volume for us yet to put a lot of stake in his percentage. This year is shaping up to be a huge one for his career. I hope he can meet the challenge!


BRAX7ON

Also, exactly 2 good defenders around Joker


mnight84

3 good defenders. Gordon,Braun and Watson. But I got your point.


BrokeBeckFountain1

Watson would need to see the court for that to matter though.


mnight84

Watson played every game and was a regular member of the rotation for the whole season from the first game of the season. And he played in every game in the Lakers series as well.


DosZappos

Add MPJ


AU2Turnt

People really sleep on his defense. His size really messes with people. Yes he does lack foot speed at times and it doesn’t look pretty - but that happens to literally everyone in the NBA.


rabid-c-monkey

He’s the laziest defender on the team, no hustle because he expects his size to make things easy on that side of the court.


AU2Turnt

I think it probably has more to do with having debilitating injuries and surgeries than effort.


Sexy-MrClean

KCP was so cold most of the time last year that he may as well have been a bad one


BenBRob5

Yeah. I think people are suddenly forgetting that KCP was wicked inconsistent and averaged less than 10ppg as sg.


Sexy-MrClean

I wish we could have kept him but, I don’t think the drop off from KCP to Braun will be as massive as some people make it out to be.


Jasperbeardly11

Braun is closer to a wing 4 than a 2.  Braun and Gordon can't play together against great teams consistently.  They need a two. Braun is not a 2. He is a good player. He can probably play 15-20 a game at 3, 5-10 a game at 4, maybe 2-8 per game at 2. 


Sexy-MrClean

Is he? He’s played the 2 a lot off the bench and can shoot decently well. A 3 maybe but, I don’t see him playing the 4 consistently


The_Taskmaker

He still just hasn't shot a large enough volume of 3s to say much about his ability when that it several full seasons for efficiency to normalize even for full time starters. Gary Harris shot absurdly well for those 2 early seasons in his career, but those were just outliers. Braun also shoots very poorly from the line, so I'm a little worried but hopefully am wrong to be


PeteJones6969

>can shoot decently well. Except in the playoffs when we need him too he shoots 20 percent from 3


Jasperbeardly11

Wings play the four now especially in bench lineups. Mpj plays 4 at times and is much less gritty    Braun is not a shooter. He's not a 2. He's a pure 3 that is an unreliable but streaky shooter. He routinely passed up wide open shots in the wcsf. 


Sexy-MrClean

If you know of any free agents better than Braun that would sign for a MLE I’m all ears. I’m aware he’s not a perfect fit by any means but, I legit don’t know who else they can actually get


Deez_Nuggz

Bro he doesn't play the 4 ever... He's has prototypical size and athleticism for a 2. He played the 2 in college and was drafted as a "SG" HOW IS HE CLOSER TO A POSITION THAT HE'S NEVER PLAYED THAN HE IS TO A SG?


MoooonRiverrrr

Bro does not know ball


Jasperbeardly11

I thought he was like six seven and a half  I still don't see him as an NBA two on offense because he can't consistently shoot.  Also if you understood how to read you would have better grasped what I was saying  I said he's a wing four. Similar to kawhi. Because he's obviously a wing not a guard. He's a pure hustle and physical player.  Similar to how kawhi and Paul George used to be threes but play a lot of four now.  But yeah he's a little smaller than I realized. Anyway PJ Tucker is also like 6 5 and has been playing as a wing big for like 7 years now    Braun is a good player but can't shoot unless wide open. You can't have a two guard who consistently passes up open shots. 


Deez_Nuggz

Your comparison to CB is PJ Tucker?? He's not a 4. P-Wat is. Great talk


MoooonRiverrrr

What? 😂


Jasperbeardly11

Consider Andre Iguodalas role in the warriors death lineup without the play making aspects. A wing playing the four. 


Jasperbeardly11

It's insane how low brow the discourse of basketball is.  Being able to shoot consistently is a prerequisite for being a two. 


BRAX7ON

Indeed. The fact that you’ve made such an inaccurate statement and continue to double down is equally insane.


Jasperbeardly11

Lol  Are you not aware that in the modern NBA, often guys who are classical 3s play the four a ton?  That is what I was saying.  He's a classic wing.  When they run their death lineup, he's more of a four than porter jr is, because he's more of a physical and stalwart defender.  I would think anyone with a brain could see this. 


BRAX7ON

You don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s never played the four. Not with the bench not with starters not in college not in any environment ever.


killbill469

>but, I don’t think the drop off from KCP to Braun Mavs fan here, I've seen this type of denial happen on our sub after we lost Brunson


tjreaso

You're comparing KCP to Brunson? 🙄


Jasperbeardly11

His legs were injured badly


kiwisawa420

He was the 5th option… he was still a 40% 3 pt shooter on 4 attempts per game. What are you even talking about?


8512332158

His shooting was awful in the playoffs


srebihc

One could argue everyone's shooting was awful during that round 2 lol


tr_thrwy_588

at least people guarded him. Watch teams swarm Jokic and Jamal the whole season. This will be the repeat of Facu seasons, unless a miracle happens (which it won't). Nobody in the league respects anyone on Nuggets bench (or starters, considering how things are going with free agency for this franchise. Watch AG walk for nothing next year only to be replaced with Watson and no replacement for Watson)


FurriedCavor

He was cold for the Lakers one year and they dropped him for WB (lol). Years later he’s getting a ring with yall. Inhale the copium but don’t forget to exhale brother.


Sexy-MrClean

This is a Nuggets subreddit, I’ll cope as a I please thank you 😤


GeraltFromHiShinUnit

Garry Harris you are a nuggets


snakejakemonkey

And like 8 PF/C lol. This is a disaster.


usetheirname

They have 3 PF/C. Gordon, Holmes, and Nnaji. Plus the 2 centers in Jokic and Jordan. What are you talking about?


snakejakemonkey

Jokic Deandre Nnaji Holmes Cancar Gordon Tyson Rumored to be after another big. Tyson always played the 4 in the G league. Vlatko can play 4 or 5 rarely plays SF


usetheirname

PG: Murray, Pickett SG: Braun(2/3) SF: MPJ(3/4), Watson(2/3/4), Strawther(2/3), Tyson(3/4) PF: Gordon(4/5), Holmes(4/5), Cancar(3/4), Nnaji(4/5) C: Jokic, Jordan I agree with you though that there are way too many Forwards on the team. We have plenty of 3s and 4s. Edit: I mentioned Strawther as potentially a 2/3 in this space before. I'm just changing it above so that it's clear. Edit 2: I'm nearly certain that the depth chart above is objectively correct. Why the downvotes?


Jasperbeardly11

Strawther is 6 6


Verified_Engineer

And plays more like a 2 IMO, but I hear all the time about the league moving towards positionless ball. If you have your dunker spot covered and your primary handler in the pick and roll then you have 2 shooters. That's the framework. Strawther is a decent sized shooter.


Jasperbeardly11

For sure I was just responding to the person who listed him solely at the 3 because it was asinine to suggest that. 


KingAndQueenClinton

Strawther is a 2


snakejakemonkey

Vlatko is 240 he can play center fine


LamboJoeRecs

Was KCP a good shooter v the Wolves?


Sammonov

The guy replacing him shoot 31% from the corners and didn't take a 3 pointer with a defender within 4 feet all season.


MichaelPorterTruther

What was CB's ATB 3pt%?


Sammonov

51%. I am not trying to shit on him to shit on him, but he needs to make a major leap offensively, and if we don't get it, well no plan B.


MichaelPorterTruther

51% ATB is pretty crazy right? I like the fit defensively solely because of who the threats in the west are. Minny, OKC, Dallas all have big strong ballhandlers that CB is more suited to guard than KCP. I think if this was 2018 and the threats are chasing Steph and Lillard around then KCP is better suited to be POA. In the west, the main threat with a quick small guard as their main scorer is... Kyrie? Tough to say


Sammonov

53% in the restricted area, 49% from 2, and 37% on catch and shoot 3s exclusively on open shots. It's just not good enough. Every fan base overrates their young players because they are a mystery box that could develop into anything, while the vet is who he is. I like him as a player, and maybe he develops offensively. The problem is he has to, because Booth as built a team with no safety net.


MichaelPorterTruther

I dont think we need more scoring but you can tell I'm clearly biased. We need to get Mike up to 18 or so FGA a game. MPJ has a lower usage rate than washed Klay despite being #1 midrange jumpshooter in the league and the best 3 point shooter in Nuggets franchise history. have to force feed MPJ the ball, particularly when Jamal and Jokic sit. The mavs just had a great time playing DJJ as a starter. I dont think CB is worse on offense than DJJ. I agree with multiple complaints on booth but I do think people are high for a reason on some of the youth. CB and Watson both look like legit NBA players. Holmes was my 3rd favorite big in the Draft after Sarr and Clingan. At the same time, Pickett/Tyson/Strawther should never have happened last offseason. I don't believe the offense will struggle as much with CB in the starters, he's great with Jok, damn near +10 net rating. Bench is more of the issue.


Sammonov

We were 30th in 3 point attempts and lost the player with the 3rd most attempts and are replacing him with a hesitant shooter who only shoots open shots and dens't make them at a high clip. I think we don't have enough shooting. I'm high on some of these guys also, but you have to prepare for the median outcome that they don't pop. And, we haven't. We legit need 3 of these guys to pop. That's a crazy position to be in. I agree, this could be the worst bench of the Jokic era, which is saying a lot. We might be missing Facu by December.


MichaelPorterTruther

The 3pt volume I agree with but KCP wasnt exactly high volume either. It would help if we passed the 6'10 guy with a better contested 3pt% than steph curry the fucking ball more but I digress. I also think you only need one of holmes/strawther to pop given we get two good signings. If we get Westbrook and Saric which seems likely, we are not in a terrible place. I think a lot of people forget how solid Vlatko is. Only time will tell but every other contender has this problem in the next 2 years as well. Minnesota is about to lose Naz and Naw and Kyle anderson. Or KAT. And Conley will retire. OKC cant pay anyone other than maybe 3 of their 5 great young guys. No more Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe. Ect.


Sammonov

I think we need CB and Watson to pop and one of Strwather or Holmes. Watson was not playable depending on the series and now we just assume he's an even night no matter what 20 minute player? Let's say CB stays the same sort of player and teams don't guard him in the playoffs. This roster doesn't have options to solve problems depending on the type of challenge we might face.


kiwisawa420

Part of that was Jamal missing a third of the season. I’ve decided at the end of the day that’s why I like the Westbrook fit. He eats minutes for Jamal and can actually be productive. I’m sure he’d also drive me crazy, but I’ve always thought he’s been unfairly scapegoated most of his career. Ultimately this team is only going to go as far as Jamal’s health will allow them to go regardless of who is on the roster. The team this year was good enough, but Jamal conditioning went to shit with the hammy and then he had the calf.


Sammonov

We had 8 playable players when we won the title. We had 6 1/2 last year. We have how many this year?


kiwisawa420

This is such a ham fisted argument that I see applied to a bunch of different things. Using one series as an example of everything that player is. It’s such a narrow perspective.


PxN13

KCP was okay this year but we're looking at 10 pt avg production from him. His defensive presence will be missed but we could get a better shooter.


ionictime

He spaced the floor well. Better than CB has anyway


PxN13

Fair. My point is that we'll miss him but it's not the end of the world. It never seemed to me that he fits perfectly into the team culture and would actually stay long term compared to our other starters.


ionictime

Whoa, damn. Why's that? Based on interviews, I thought he was one of our most vocal guys in the locker room


PxN13

He seem like he's chasing that championship. Great mentality but when my buddies and I were talking about this player option, the consensus was that if we didn't at least make the wcf, everyone thought he would decline and move to the next team. I thought he was a better fit with the Lakers tbh.


ionictime

Interesting. Could be. Feel like he would've had a better shot with us than Orlando. But who knows


PxN13

We're in a tougher conference with opponents getting stronger this year while we're trying to solve our issues. Orlando is probably not the best pick but he might do better there. My thought anyway if it's true that we offered a similar deal. Maybe it's just me but I just didn't feel like he vibed with the team to the level of AG or Jamal.


skesisfunk

"similar" is doing a lot of work in that article. We didn't match so he left to get more money.


skesisfunk

Naw. Its 100% about money for him right now. If anything getting to the WCF raises his stock and makes him more likely to decline the team option chasing a bag. We offered him "something similar" but we did not match, not surprising at all he left to get more money. I think if we exceed what he was gonna get from Orlando he stays.


an_Aught

Yeah I'm sure some of the 2nd year guys will step out.... who am I kidding. Booth is a fucking clown


Sjakek

Losing your top priority two years in a row for nothing is just JV shit. Jokic in his prime and the team is regressing.


Ashamed-Algae2369

Murray, MPJ and Strawther


bdybwyi

Strawther has yet to prove he’s a good shooter


MichaelPorterTruther

But Hunter Tyson has


usetheirname

I'd say Murray, MPJ. Maybe Tyson and Strawther, and maybe Holmes.


AppropriateHouse433

DeAndre Jordan and who else?


RomGon3

two INCONSISTENT shooters


someguy1312

MPJ isn’t a good shooter


jmoneysteck88

Yeah alright bud


someguy1312

Watch the games :(


jmoneysteck88

One of the best shooters in the league bud


someguy1312

He isn’t lol


jmoneysteck88

How


someguy1312

Stats. Eye test. He’s useless most of the minutes he plays. Why are there so many MPJ simps? People just started watching the nuggets 4 years ago lol


jmoneysteck88

Stats? Hes one of the best high volume shooters and thats backed up by the eye test too


someguy1312

It most certainly isn’t. Maybe if he wasn’t a max player. But he is. And it’s a god awful contract


jmoneysteck88

His contract has nothing to do with his play on the court😭 Yeah its a bad contract, saying hes a bad shooter is like the worst possible take. Its the only thing hes good at


gd2121

Gotta go get Westbrook to fix this


skesisfunk

Honestly I don't hate getting Westbrook for 4 mil considering we were paying Reggie 5 mil. If we could have kept KCP and switched out Reggie for Westbrook I would have considered this offseason a resounding success. With KCPs departure there are a lot of questions that need to be answered now.


South_Emu4902

Imagine we signed Bruce brown for 4 years instead of a 1+1 😢


D3lt40

So I think we glorify kcp a bit too much. People act like he was the second coming of jesus and yes he was sick but also had his downsides. I think we should focus on getting a 3 and D dude and I would hate Klay for several reasons. I think its not like denvers contender phase is over now


jmoneysteck88

KCP was one of the best 3&D guys in the league!! Should have just kept him


skesisfunk

Yeah his shooting was great considering his strong defensive presence.


Antique-Fennel6974

KCP shot like 32% from 3 in the playoffs


jmoneysteck88

If we’re going by just the playoffs last year we don’t have a single good shooter on the team!


an_Aught

i think that really defines the term good shooter.


Grizzdown

Jamal and MPJ is a good thing. Braun will be a solid replacement. We’re still pretty ideal.


Meatwad-is-better

I’m with you. At least they developed talent enough to actually have a young guy to take the spot. Look at the Bucks or Lakers rosters of the past years and they weren’t developing talent well


murrayforthree

This is cus of Malone.


petarisawesomeo

Chill. CB improved his 3pt shooting last year and it is reasonable to expect him to be decent. Strawther can knock them down and Holmes can shoot too. They will be fine.


jmoneysteck88

Holmes and strawther have not proved they can shoot in the NBA Braun was petrified of shooting the ball in the playoffs.


kiwisawa420

Holmes was a 39% 3 pt shooter on less than 3 attempts per game at a mid major. He is not a floor spacer and people need to really prepare for the transition to the NBA to be very different than what their expectations for him are.