Wow, that that was quite the roller coaster ride, now that the draft is finished, the Nuggets are walking off and away like bandits, never looking back twice to see if someone had found out and decided to start chasing after us.
First off, I would like to say, Welcome back Andre Miller! My favorite player when he was here playing with us, and one of the main reasons for me becoming a semi-Blazers fan. I can't say just how great this is to have him back where he played with us for the best years of his career. If anyone remembers, Andre Miller was the trigger with the early Melo days, throwing lobs to Kenyon and Camby was a routine job on his part and he did it well, he was one of our best clutch shooters as well as he always seemed to be there to hit some clutch free throws when we needed them, of course without trading Miller, we would not have had the events that lead up to us getting Billups, but now that is in the past, and I can't say how happy I am to have him play backup and be a mentor to Ty Lawson.
One thing that we need to remember here is that now with Miller, we have a great opportunity for a point guard duo like that in the Jason Kidd/ Barea, even though Andre Miller is not at Jason Kidd's level, it evens out a bit since Lawson is superior to Barea. The speedster/crafty veteran duo is much more effective than more of the same thing, it gives us a dynamic to change games if there happens to be a mismatch, or slows down the game, or speeds up the game to force the other team into making adjustments. Even though Miller is not a great 3 point shooter, he still shoots at a high percentage for a guard, he made over 45% of his shots last year compared to Fetlons 41%. He can play in the post better than most point guards and with Faried and his athletic prowness on the court, and the effective in small doses Chris Anderson, along with Mozgov, or any other of the Nuggets athletic big man, we will see a big dosage in ally oops and a solid, if not better bench than last year's already deepening team. Miller might be getting up there in age, but unlike smaller point guards who get older and need to rely on their quickness, Miller can still post up any point guard in the league until he hits 36-37, which by that time he will most likely retire.
So I say, welcome back, my 2nd favorite player in the league!
Here is to hoping he does not come to training camp overweight!
Now, let us talk about Kenneth Faried, who I like the more and more I see him and his highlights. He really is capable of being the next Ben Wallace, an undersized force with a knack for getting rebounds, blocking shots, and dunking with authority, and with Andre Miller, he becomes less of an offensive liability. The Man didn't play in a top conference, but even so, he was able to snatch 12 rebounds and 15 points while playing against Ohio St. this year facing off against next years top 10 pick Jared Sullinger, I would say that is pretty impressive. He also averaged 5.7 offensive rebounds per game, which, if it rough translates to the pro level somehow, would get him a welcoming home in the starting lineup, those are numbers that can't come from athletic ability alone, it comes from pure hustle, and determination, which he has plenty of, considering that in his first year at Morehead St., he averaged 3.7 offensive rebounds, and his next 2 seasons after that he averaged 4.2 offensive rebounds a game, 5.7 is a huge increase. His offensive game also increased every year as did every aspect of his game so there is no regression to see in his progress.
Players like him don't get better until a few years into their careers, just like Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace before him, because they don't get into their athletic prime for quite awhile, but watching Kenneth highlights, even against ACC quality teams, he was a man amongst boys. His presence alone was very noticeable on the court, and I think that he has the ability to be the next Ben Wallace, or even Kenyon Martin before the injuries if he really works hard enough.
if they retired his number 35# in high school and college, than I see no reason why not Denver!
Speaking of Jordans, we also have Jordan Hamilton as part of the trade to really say that this was one our best drafts ever. While I was eagerly hoping to get Faried before our pick had came, and others arguing against it, such as Denverstiffs reader Agaliarept, who was hoping we got Jordan Hamilton, I don't think either of us expected before anything happened for us to get BOTH of them, what a steal. Hamilton is tall, and can score in bunches, and can be very effective if his shot selection gets much better. He can rebound well at the top level in college, and score as well, he was not on any Denver fans radar since everyone had him going in the teens of the draft, some even going as high as 8-9, so to have him in our laps at the end of the day, I must say that Nugget fans should be very happy to get this guy. He reminds me of Rashard Lewis, other people think of him as a Stephen Jackson type of guy, but either way he is meant to be a scorer, and if George Karl can develop this kid's talent and take him to the next level, and Gallo does not pan out, we will always have another youngin to possibly take the scoring load and be "the man". Some people say he might turn out to be another Reggie Williams (the one on the Warriors) but Williams didn't go to a college nearly as prestigious as Texas.
If J.R leaves, we will have a few players who can step forward and fill his shoes, some say Hamilton might be a good replacement, but if Chandler stays, I don't see why he can't play backup shooting guard, since he can keep up with most guards, and defended Kobe Bryant very well. He also becomes less of a liability offensively because when he is playing against weaker competition (the other teams bench), he will become more effective with his pull up jumper from the base line. So Why not do this.
Lawson/Miller
Afflalo/Chandler/Hamilton
Gallo/Hamilton/Chandler
Nene/Kenneth/Moz
Mozgov/Birdman/Kouf
Get rid of Kenyon Martin, J.r Smith, and somehow get rid of Al Harrington.
That is a young core that can be good for years to come, especially if Gallo pans out and turns into an All-star for a medium market, like Nowitzski did for Dallas.
