Well, he's not Nene Hilario or Arron Afflalo, but Luc Mbah a Moute is a former UCLA product, 25 years-old, and a 2008 second-round pick by the Milwaukee Bucks - where he has played the past three seasons. A restricted free agent, the Nuggets have signed Moute to a four-year, $19 million offer sheet, according to the Denver Post. The Bucks have three days to match or let 6'8'' small forward become a Nugget.
Update: Bucks expected to match Nuggets deal and keep Moute, according to NBA.com writer Scott Howard-Cooper.
What the SB Nation Bucks blog, Brew Hoop, has to say about Moute possibly leaving. Click here.
The vibe I'm getting from Bucks Nation is that the nearly $4.75 million per season contract the Nuggets have Moute signed to may be too rich for the Bucks to match; even though the team has the resources to do so.
For those of you who are not familiar with Moute's game, he's a fierce defender and a great hustle player. What that also means, he has limited offensive game. Not a great shooter, but he can get to the rim. He's not going to be a threat from outside of 15-feet and would be a great candidate to show Nuggets rookie Kenneth Faried the ropes on defense as both guys have a similar build and height.
Moute has averaged 7.2, 6.2, and 6.7 points per game in his three NBA seasons to go along with 5.6 rebounds per game in about 26 minutes per contest. He started 52 of the 79 games he appeared in last season with the Bucks, but in Denver he'd likely be asked to come off the bench as Danilo Gallinari is expected to start at small forward and Arron Afflalo at the shooting guard spot (if he's re-signed).
This is an interesting signing by the Nuggets and if it goes through it's almost as if the Nuggets will have a more expensive and experienced version of Faried on the roster. I'm a little worried that the Nuggets might be a little too one dimensional with their bench players if Moute comes aboard as the Nuggets sorely need some scoring off the bench.
With Gary Forbes signing an offer sheet with the Toronto Raptors, I'm even more concerned about where the Nuggets will find points when the starters are resting.
What do you Stiffs think of the Moute signing?
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