My thoughts on Nuggets free agency
Free agency has begun and the Nuggets seem to be pretty active. One player whose fate has already been determined is Julyan Stone as the Nuggets didn’t give him a qualifying offer.Nate Timmons wrote a good article on this if you want more info http://www.denverstiffs.com/2013/6/30/4481500/julyan-stone-is-set-to-become-an-unrestricted-free-agent-on-july-1st
The Nuggets top priority is resigning Andre Iguodala.That is going to be hard as he has meetings already scheduled with the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, and Atlanta Hawks according to Yahoo Sports. Iguodala is one of the games best defenders and should command a salary between 12-14 million dollars.I am a huge fan of Iguodala and what he brings to the Nuggets.In fact I bought his jersey the minute he was traded and was thrilled that the Nuggets had a big name that was going to take us to the next level. With that said we can not let him go without a fight. If he is going to leave we need to do a sign and trade. According to sources the Kings are willing to offer him a max deal.Let’s trade him to the Warriors for Thompson or Barnes obviously you need to add more to make a deal but even if we have to take a bad contract to get a great shooter it would be worth it.
Denver is also major player for Memphis Guard Tony Allen if the Grizzlies fail to resign him according to https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/351772673304559616. Allen is just as good a defender as Iguodala if not better but lacks the offensive skills of Iggy. He averaged 8.9 points per game this season compared to Iguodala’s 13.0 points per contest during the regular season. However Allen was a first team all defensive player the past two seasons something Iguodala can not claim. He is a leader and has won a championship before.We need to get him even if we keep Iggy and the only way possible with the cap is the mid level exception.If you got questions about the Nuggets cap room and why we cant just go get Monta Ellis and Tony Allen for the same price as Iguodala check out this article by Nate Timmons http://www.denverstiffs.com/2013/7/2/4486650/2013-nba-free-agency-how-much-money-can-the-nuggets-spend-in-free . Having the games best two defenders would put the Nuggets into contender status immediately.The fiasco in Golden State would not happen again because we would have their shooters locked down.Update Tony Allen has resigned with the Grizzles for 4 years and 20 million according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.
Moving on The Nuggets have been rumored to want Corey Brewer back but he has mostly been talking with other teams. Brew brings energy to the team and is an essential member of the bench. We cannot let him walk. I know a lot of fans don’t like the risks he takes but those risks can change the momentum of a game to Denver’s side and I would be sad to see Brewer leave Denver.
Another free agent of ours is working on an extension according to sources http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/228553/Timofey-Mozgov-Nuggets-Negotiating-Multi-Year-Contract. This is a great decision by Nuggets management. I believe Mozgov was better than Koufos and it showed in the playoffs. Mozgov is slower but is not pushed around in the paint. Kofous was great in the regular season but come playoff time he was overpowerd first by Bynum and then this year by Bogut. I believe Mozgov and Javale compliment each other with what they can bring to the Nuggets. Timofey will never provide much offense but when you need a force down low or size he is your man.
Lastly in news that will make a lot Nuggets fans happy it appears new GM Tim Connelly is trying to move veteran point guard Andre Miller. He reportedly tried to him in the Kofous-Arthur trade.http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sbnation/SBNation_20130702_NBA_trade_rumors__Nuggets__Andre_Miller_may_be_moved__according_to_report.html
At 37 Miller’s best days are behind him and with management wanting to go young Miller just doesn’t fit. I enjoy Miller and the lobs to McGee but he takes a lot of questionable shots. Every time he shoots a three I scream at the television. I think he might become a problem due to the fact he is not starting and Shaw will probably not give him the minutes he enjoyed under Karl. It’s time to move on and trade Miller for whatever we can get.
Stay tuned to NuggLove for all Nuggets news on free agency