| Lottery Summit: Denver Nuggets Authored by Andrew Perna & The RGM Nuggets Forum - June 17, 2008 - 10:05 am
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The Denver Nuggets:
2007-08 Record: 50-32
Difference From 2006-07: Five More Wins
Playoff Result: Lost In Four To L.A. (First Round)
Restricted Free Agents: Yakhouba Diawara, J.R. Smith
Unrestricted Free Agents: Anthony Carter, Allen Iverson (ETO), Eduardo Najera
The Verdicts
1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?
legendarywalton: The only way this ill-conceived project would have made it out of the first round was to trade for Ron Artest at the deadline. We had no answer for Kobe, and we did not have the defensive identity necessary to advance in the playoffs.
MHizzle: The main thing that has plagued them in recent years has been a very tough first round opponent. The key is not to lose in the regular season to very beatable teams – like Sacramento and Seattle late in the season.
2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
legendarywalton: J.R. Smith.
MHizzle: Putting up a lot of points and running the fast break.
3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
legendarywalton: Kenyon Martin played pretty well, but J.R. was the only bright spot on this team.
MHizzle: Smith, easily. He has been a mainstay in George Karl's doghouse, but played his way out of it this season.
4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
legendarywalton: The killer duo. They put up a lot of numbers, but they didn't get a lot of results.
MHizzle: Marcus Camby. The guy put up decent numbers, but really seemed to break down late in the season and was non-existent offensively.
5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
legendarywalton: They didn't fire Karl after getting bounced in the first round for the fifth consecutive year. On a scale of 0 to 10, they get a zero.
MHizzle: Not at all. They have no cap flexibility, have bad contracts and seem more interested in teaching Melo a lesson by letting the trade rumors swirl instead of actually trying to improve the team.
6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
legendarywalton: A long, athletic true point guard or another versatile big.
MHizzle: A point guard would be huge. This team cannot start Anthony Carter another game. I can't argue with a big guy who can stay healthy, or a perimeter shooter either.
7. Who would you like your team to select?
legendarywalton: I'd like them to trade up and draft Russell Westbrook. I think this team would be much better with a true point, because our offense broke down just as badly as our defense this season.
MHizzle: I agree. The ideal situation would be to move up to grab Westbrook. He’s an athletic playmaker with a great defensive presence on the perimeter. If we’re staying at twenty, a guy like Brandon Rush would be great. He has a nice basketball IQ, can hit the three and defend.
The Draft Summit Archive:
The Atlanta Hawks:Draft Summit
The Philadelphia 76ers:Draft Summit
The Toronto Raptors:Draft Summit
The Washington Wizards:Draft Summit
The Cleveland Cavaliers:Draft Summit
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Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. If you’re a fan of one of the many teams that we have yet to feature, surf over to our forums and weigh in on what is happening within the organization. If you’d like to contact Andrew, shoot him an e-mail at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
