6 Worst Denver Nuggets starters of the Carmelo Anthony Era

6. Eduardo Najera, Denver Nuggets Forward, 2005-08

Eduardo Najera — the first ever Mexican-born player to be drafted into the NBA — was selected in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks (via draft day trade with the Houston Rockets) in 2000. Najera was mostly a reserve during his first five years with the Mavs and the Golden State Warriors, starting just 38 games over that span.

He arrived in Denver via trade in 2005 and his minutes per game jumped from the 14.6 he was getting in Golden State, to 22.1 with the Nuggets. The next year he played similar minutes coming off the bench, but during the 2006-07 season, he was given the chance to start in 36 games after Kenyon Martin was forced to undergo another surgery on his knee.

Najera put up 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on 56% from the field in those starts, but it simply wasn’t enough. The Nuggets then made a major midseason trade in which they acquired Allen Iverson, among others. After that, Najera went back to the bench as other players such as Nene and Yakhouba Diawara emerged as more significant contributors. He went on to five more unimpressive years in the league and is now a scout for the Mavericks.