Denver Nuggets: Can Will Barton be effective at the wing?
By Mathew Huff
The Denver Nuggets recently signed Will Barton to a long term deal.
The Denver Nuggets are going to be looking a little different at the small forward spot for this upcoming season. With the departure of Wilson Chandler and Michael Porter Jr. most likely missing his rookie year, Will Barton will get the nod at the starting wing spot.
The Denver Nuggets locked up the Sixth Man of the Year candidate for four more years. This came with an agreement that he would get to start at the three spot this coming year. Will Barton is coming off a career year where we saw him have bright moments on the offensive side of the floor and the defensive side.
Per basketball reference, Barton had a player efficiency rating of 16.2 this past season to go along with a career high defensive box plus/minus of one. Obviously this is not the greatest defensive statistic. But, if you look at his past totals, then this is actually a welcome sign of improvement.
Last season, we saw Barton play a multitude of roles. We saw him come off the bench. We same him be the starting shooting guard. Not to mention, we even saw him play and start at the small forward position a couple of times.
Surprisingly, Barton looked comfortable at the three spot. Obviously, Barton can be a frustrating player to watch sometimes with how he likes to play hero ball. However, he is one of the few players on the team who can create his own shot and take over a game when he is hot.
Barton may be off at times with his scoring. However, he also has the potential to drop 25 plus points on any given night as well.
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All in all, I believe that we will be surprised with how well Will Barton actually fares at the starting wing spot come next season.