The Milwaukee Bucks matched the Nuggets offer on defensive ace Luc Mbah a Moute. Back to the drawing board, the Nuggets added a cheaper option, but a skilled defensive player in DeMarre Carroll out of Missouri (Josh Kroenke's Alma mater). After playing in 71 games as a rookie during the 2009-10 season, Carroll appeared in just 12 games last season with the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets.
The Nuggets surely didn't add a major piece in the Carroll signing. He averaged just 2.9 points as a rookie, 1.4 points with the Grizz last season, and appeared in just some garbage time games with the Rockets where he averaged 0.0 points.
I can still recall Missouri's nice college run with Carroll, a record 31 win season in 2009, and the team's relentless defense. It should come as no surprise that Carroll's nickname is "Junkyard Dog" as he's a good defender and tireless rebounder. I don't expect a large role for Carroll with the Nuggets, but he should be a help in practice to drive the team forward and perhaps he can earn some court time.
You can follow Carroll on Twitter here: @DeMarreCarroll1 where he has recently tweeted:
Headin to Denver! Thought it was Utah but I got a better feelin about Denver!!!!!! We out.....
Just landed in Denver.. I havent seen snow since I left MIZZOU..This crazy!!!!
Just got finish gettin shots up wit the coaches. I feel like im back in my MIZZOU days, when i transferred from Vandy to MIZZOU!!!
Other NBA news:
No secret now, but Chauncey Billups was officially claimed by the Los Angeles Clippers. If Billups decides to retire rather than report, he'll lose out on $14.2 million.
Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post has a fun story up on Kenneth Faried and his "Manimal" nickname. The Nuggets now have a Junkyard Dog and a Manimal ... is that good? Faried has been tweeting often about "Manimal" and promoting his T-shirts, all summer.
Nate_Timmons on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/Nate_Timmons
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