If you're a Denver Nuggets fan, unless you've been living off the grid for the better part of the offseason, you've probably heard that the Nuggets need a better solution at the backup point guard spot. But they signed Tyus Jones, you may say. Well, Tyus is not the answer the Nuggets need outside of ball control, and neither is the newly released D'Angelo Russell. For a couple of reasons, which I'll dive into.
First, the news. D'Angelo Russell has been waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, who are working to get their roster down to 15 players. The prevailing thought is that he's going to be looking to land with a contender. That contender should not be the Nuggets.
The Nuggets don't need to make their second-apron problem worse
Sure, the Nuggets do have one more spot available on the roster. The 15th roster spot has been open for weeks, and it should stay that way until the Nuggets get some other move lined up to solve their second-apron problem.
They're still the only team in the league over the NBA's dreaded upper luxury tax threshold penalty. And adding Russell would only add to the $3.15 million number they're currently over the threshold by, which would make their efforts to get back under the mark by the time the trade deadline rolls around that much more difficult.
The deeper the Nuggets push themselves into the second apron, the more they're going to get squeezed to get back under that mark by every other team in the league when it comes time to make a trade. They'll definitely have to part with some of the draft picks they've acquired this summer to do it. Adding Russell just doesn't make sense from this standpoint.
The Nuggets can turn to DeMar DeRozan at backup point guard instead
The Nuggets also already have a veteran solution on the roster to use as a backup point guard: six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan at backup point guard seems to be flying under the radar. He's not the ball-control specialist Jones is, but he's better in every other way, and he's already played the distributor role in his career while he was with the San Antonio Spurs. To me, he's a no-brainer fit for the spot.
Russell and DeRozan are both probably equally bad at defense, but DeRozan's obviously the better offensive player. DeRozan should lead the bench unit, and his half-court vision is perfect for the role. His basketball IQ will help him immensely, and his underrated passing skills may be one of the keys to unlocking more scoring from the bench this season.
There's no reason for the Nuggets to sign Russell now, given the way they've handled the offseason. And they should pass on signing him.
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