This summer, the Denver Nuggets once again face a dilemma: should they go all out with the team they have and hope that next year’s version will overachieve in the playoffs, or should they shake things up and try to land a superstar that could will them to playoff success?
Partly due to my nature as a win or go home type of guy, but also because I do see a ceiling for the current Nuggets roster, I would like to go with the latter. Regardless of which path the front office ends up taking though, two moves absolutely must be made.
The first is the resigning of Masai Ujiri, current Nuggets general manager. After taking over the reigns as GM in 2010, he handled the Carmelo-drama with about as much ease and skill as could be asked and was named executive of the year in 2013. While Denver may lack a superstar on the court, they clearly have one in the front office, and they cannot afford to lose him to the Toronto Raptors, a team that has been rumored to have a high interest in the Nigerian executive.
The second action that must be made is to do whatever it takes to find Andre Miller a new home. The man simply does not fit on this team and his “veteran savvy” seems a lot more like selfishness than actually beneficial experience as the years drag by. Miller is a 37-year-old point guard with a penchant for slowing the game down and dribbling off 16 seconds of the shot clock before actually doing anything, two habits that truly limit the young Nuggets potential.
While his occasional craftiness and ability to take over games on the offensive end was a much needed regular season asset last year, it simply will not help the Nuggets to become a better basketball team in the future and is far too unreliable to be considered a valuable commodity moving forward. Simply, he has to go.
One name that Denver Post columnist Mark Kizla has tossed into the Denver rumor mill is Kevin Love, power forward extraordinaire. Love currently plays for the largely inept Minnesota Timberwolves and has been rumored to desire a more competent destination to continue his career.
Love would bring a polished frontcourt game that the Nuggets desperately need, none of their bigs are reliable post scorers, or even scorers of any type, whereas Love can bang in the post or step out and shoot jump shots as need.
A trade for Love would certainly have to give up some serious assets (most likely some combination involving at least one of Denver’s top wing players, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler) but if the Nuggets could bring Love to Denver, they would be title contenders.
The last order of business on the Nugget’s agenda should be the acquisition of a shooter. Goodbye Corey Brewer, although your hustle and all out style of play were a great fit for the Nuggets, your 29% will not be missed. Instead, the Nuggets should look into a sniper in a free agent market that is sure to be flush with long range launchers like Kyle Korver, who shot over 45% from deep this season.
