Nuggets should consider Bellineli in free agency
By Evan Siegel
The Denver Nuggets have a need for shooting, and could use Marco Belinelli’s marksmanship.
The Denver Nuggets have plenty of players with range up and down the depth chart, but no one particular player stands out as someone that opposing defenses have to specifically prepare for beyond the arc every time they meet on the floor.
Paul Millsap was having a strong year shooting the three ball, draining the outside shot at a 44 percent clip. But the Nuggets can’t always rely on their big guys to be strong outside shooters, and Paul Millsap will be a free agent at season’s end. The Nuggets are in need of at least one pure outside shooting threat from their guard rotation.
Enter Marco Bellineli. The Italian guard can do basically nothing else at this point in his career, but the 34-year-old has been a deadly outside sniper ever since entering the league with the Golden State Warriors in 2007. Belinelli became a fixture in the San Antonio Spurs rotation when he joined the team in 2013 after stints with the Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Hornets, and Chicago Bulls.
After becoming a key cog in Gregg Popovich’s deep rotation, Belinelli moved on to the Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, and Philadelphia 76ers, before returning to the Spurs on a free agent deal. At this point in his journeyman career, he’d be well served to sign a minimum-salary deal with a championship contender.
The Nuggets sit just 15th in the league in three point shooting percentage. While that is exactly average and far from the bottom of the barrel, it did haunt them during their defeat at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers in last year’s Western Conference semifinals. Too often, defenses do not have to honor the three point line and can suck themselves in and make life much more difficult on Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Will Barton.
Next. How will the Nuggets look in their first action back from the hiatus?. dark
The team already has more than enough scoring. But some consistent outside shooting without sacrificing hardly anything more than a roster spot would go a long way for the Nuggets. Marco Belinelli would be just the right fit.