June 1, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in game three of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics won 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE
Well Mark Kiszla is up to his old tricks, and while this time he has a good idea, it is virtually impossible.
Kiszla suggested on Friday that the Nuggets deal Danilo Gallinari, Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo for LeBron James.
Seriously, why didn’t the Nuggets think about this before? James is a three-time League MVP and has been chosen to the All-Defensive and the All-NBA Team the previous four seasons. Masai Ujiri should get Pat Riley on the phone right away and get a deal worked out. Of course, the Nuggets might have to wait since the Heat are one game away from advancing to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season.
The big question is why would the Heat trade the best player on the planet for three good, but not great players? Not to mention, why would James be willing to play for a small market like Denver – especially after signing with the Heat two summers ago.
Of course Kiszla may have been being facetious, which makes sense because other Denver journalist have overvalued the Nuggets. Denver had a great run in the playoffs and are a good team, but to compare them to the Final-bound Oklahoma City Thunder is a little much.
The Nuggets and the Thunder have one thing in common, they both have young squads. But Oklahoma City have three players that are at the elite level – or are close. Thunders’ Kevin Durant, led the league in scoring and is an MVP candidate. And Russell Westbrook and James Harden are All-Stars. Not to mention, the three are all younger than most of the Nuggets core. Durant and Westbrook are only 23 years old, while Harden is only 22.
Hey, Nuggets have a bright future but to think they could ever get to the Thunder level with this core is a pipe dream. However, put Durant or Harden on this squad and it would be a different story.
Topics: Arron Afflalo, Danilo Gallinari, Denver Nuggets, James Harden, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook, Ty Lawson
Born and raised in the beautiful state of Colorado, Jonathan R. Maness grew up in the days of Broncos' great John Elway and Nuggets' greats Laphonso 'The Fonz' Ellis. As a lifelong Nuggets fan, he has followed the Denver Nuggets through the worst of times (and there were a lot of them) and currently through the best of times. This 30-year-old sports journalist has had the honor of taking photos of the Nuggets home games from the comforts of the Pepsi Center's floor. In his free time he works on the Sports Copy Desk at the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
All Denver Sports
Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Rockies
Colorado Buffaloes
Denver Broncos
Denver Nuggets
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Portland Trail Blazers
Utah Jazz
