Axel Toupane went from undrafted to a solid injury replacement for the Nuggets, but can he beat the odds and still make the opening day roster?
Axel Toupane was easily one of the better defenders on the Nuggets this past season. He did a quality job at defending quality NBA SG’s and SF’s. His defense was easily his strength as that is what Head Coach Mike Malone put as the spotlight of Toupane’s gameplan. Similar to Gary Harris, Toupane is also a great cutter/slasher.
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He is exquisite at getting to the hoop on backdoor plays and creates multiple opportunities out of nothing. Toupane didn’t have any plays designed for him, so cutting to the hoop was his opportunity to make plays. Toupane is a very skilled player and at only 24 years old has room to improve, so why wouldn’t he make the Nuggets opening day roster?
The problem is that the Nuggets already have a multitude of wings on the roster, and have recently guaranteed the contract of Joffrey Lauvergne‘s contract, leaving Axel Toupane on the outside looking in. Joffrey Lauvergne guarantees that the Nuggets will have balance throughout the roster, with him being their third center on the roster.
Although Toupane might look like he will be getting cut after training camp, that is not necessarily true. If Axel Toupane has a great training camp, there is a way he could make the roster over Lauvergne. Joffrey has been very iffy during his two years as a Denver Nugget. Although he might look like he’s having good games, most of the time his +/- is one of the lowest on the entire team.
This is due mostly to his lack of defense, the area where Axel Toupane thrives. Not only is Toupane better at defense, but Michael Malone has been preaching defense ever since the first day he got the job. It still seems as though Malone wants the Nuggets to focus on defense before offense. The Nuggets struggled mightily on defense last season and adding Toupane would definitely help out for a couple minutes a game off the bench.
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Toupane would also be a better option than Lauvergne due to injuries. This past season, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler missed a total of 111 combined games due to injuries alone. During a period of the season, the Nuggets were starting JaKarr Sampson as their SF.
Having Axel Toupane on the roster would allow the Nuggets to have someone to look to if either Gallinari or Chandler or both get injured. It would allow the Nuggets to still have a quality small forward that they could use off the bench or starting, even with Mike Miller on the roster. Toupane would likely be a better option to start over Miller due to his age.
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Although Axel Toupane doesn’t have much of a chance to make the final roster, there is a chance that he could outperform Joffrey Lauvergne in training camp to make the roster and ultimately change the mind of the Denver Nuggets’ management. Toupane is a long shot to make the team at this point, but he could still hold some influence on the Denver Nuggets.