| Time to Move Skita Authored by Patrick J. Austin - January 24, 2005 - 11:51 am
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It goes without question, Kiki Vandeweghe’s worst move as a G.M. has to be taking Tskitishvili with the fifth pick in the 2002 draft(Amare Stoudemire went ninth). Taking Skita was a big risk considering he was so raw coming from overseas (only played fourteen minutes a game in the Italian league). Though, the “Gasol-factor” played a major role. The year before, Memphis took a chance on this little know Spaniard by the name of Pau Gasol. People questioned the selection, calling him raw and a project that won’t be able to contribute for years. Well, the Grizzlies risky pick paid off big time. Pau averaged nearly twenty points per game in his first season and won the Rookie of the Year award. That’s probably why Kiki took the chance with Skita. Unfortunately, a player like Gasol doesn’t come overseas every year.
Unless a dramatic turn of events takes place, Skita will never blossom in a Nuggets uniform. He’s still young enough to improve and possibly become a contributor in this league, but he’s definitely leaving Denver as soon as his contract is up (though, hopefully the Nuggets can trade him for some sort of value).
The question now is—what can the Nuggets get for him? The answer—not very much. Due to his zero playing time and future free agent status, most teams won’t give up anything of real value. I can’t even see a team willing to give up a future first round pick for the guy. Though, there are teams willing to trade their disappointing young talent in exchange for another disappointing young talent hoping that a change of scenery could create a positive reaction.
Here are two possible trades that I feel make sense and are plausible…
1.)The Nuggets trade Tskitishvili to the Atlanta Hawks for Boris Diaw and Kenny Anderson.
This trade would accomplish two things for the Nuggets. First, they acquire more depth at shooting guard with Boris Diaw. Though, he’s not really a “shooting” guard per say. He’s a rare player in that he doesn’t like to shoot the ball. He’s unselfish to such an extent that the Hawks coaching staff actually has to remind him to shoot every once in a while. So if the Nuggets were to acquire him, he’d be more of a defensive and ball handling specialist, rather than an additional scorer. Bringing in Kenny Anderson would give Denver that veteran third point guard they’ve been looking for. Age has taken its toll on Kenny, but he’s still a solid point guard who can run an offense effectively.
The Hawks do this mainly because they are loaded on the perimeter and have no real depth upfront. Since their season is pretty much over, they can afford to give Skita plenty of playing time to see if he can actually contribute. Plus, if he becomes a real player, they’ll have the financial flexibility to re-sign him to a long-term deal.
2.)The Nuggets trade Tskitishvili to the Cleveland Cavaliers for DaJuan Wagner.
Again, this trade would provide more depth at shooting guard for the Nuggets with Wagner. DaJuan has been another major disappointment and actually went right after Skita in the 2002 draft. The Cavs were hoping he could turn into Allen Iverson Jr., but injuries have prevented him from getting any sort of consistent playing time. With Paul Silas in town, Wagner has been relegated to third, and even fourth string duty. With the Nuggets, Wagner would see more playing time and could provide that outside scoring threat they’ve been lacking. He can also play some at point guard, if need be.
For the Cavs, they do this deal to add more depth to their frontline. You never know when Ilgauskas could get injured again, so having a surplus of big guys would be wise, especially for a playoff run.
Obviously, if one of these deals were to occur, it wouldn’t turn the Nuggets into contenders; but something needs to happen. A change needs to be made. Kiki shouldn’t let Skita just walk after this season. He needs to get some sort of value for a player he took so high. It’s like buying stock. If you purchase it at a high price, you don’t want to let it fall to zero and get nothing from it. Even if you have to sell it at a lower price, you have to get something in return.
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