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NLL Insider - Team by Team: Denver Nuggets

by vt, updated on Tuesday, December 06 2011, 12:40 am EST

Team by Team: Denver Nuggets
2010-2011 Finish: 53-29

What went well

2010-2011 will go down as a historic season for the Denver Nuggets. It's the one where they traded away their biggest star, became the laughing stock of the league and then pulled it together to make it all the way to the Finals, shutting down the naysayers. But how did GM Nick and his team make it happen?

The team began the season with more or less the same roster. Ben Wallace re-signed and they brought in Ishmael Smith and Shelden Williams on the cheap. They did, however, spend way too much money on Mike Miller. Only one trade went down, moving Sasha Vujacic to the Kings for Marquis Daniels.

The season began but then THE TRADE went down. Fearful of Kobe Bryant's large contract, Nick decided to break up the Bryant-Dwight Howard showcase and move his star, along with Wallace and up-and-comer Marcus Thornton to the Boston Celtics for Danny Granger, Marcus Camby and DeSagana Diop. The press howled. The fans jeered. GM Nick almost walked off into the snow-bound Rockies with no food or drink.

At first, the trade didn't work and the Nuggets plummeted. In a flurry of trades, GM Nick tried to stop the bleeding. And it seemed to work. First he shipped off Daniels to OKC, bringing in Ryan Anderson and Cartier Martin. Then he moved Miller and a 1st rounder to the Bucks for Martell Webster. Finally, he moved Andray Blatche, Camby and Shelden Williams to the Magic for Marvin Williams, Hasheem Thabeet, Carl Landry and the rights to Sergio Llul.

These new Nuggets gelled and began to win, eventually grabbing the third seed. They whipped the Utah Jazz 4 games to 1 in the first round, as Granger and Howard learned how to play together, sending GM Proid scurrying out of SLC and into the open arms of NJ. The Nuggets then dispatched the Kings in the semi-finals and handily beat the Lakers in the Conference Finals. Only four wins stood between Nick and the title.

What went bad

In a heartbreaking Finals, the Wizards cast a spell on the Nuggets, stopping them cold in their tracks and winning 4 games to 3. Pau Gasol, Shane Battier, Jason Terry and Alonzo Gee (you read that correctly) were just too much for the Nuggets. With a sigh, Nick began to contemplate that hiking trip again.

Stars
 

- Dwight Howard, PF/C -

Though Howard's production has dropped since coming to Denver, he's still good for 20+ppg and 10+rpg. With Kobe gone, his IS the face of this team and despite rumors that Nick needs to move him or lose him, the INSIDER believes that Howard won't be going anywhere.


- Danny Granger- SF

The new kid on the block faced tremendous pressure to fill Kobe's sneakers, but by taking the Nuggets deep, it's likely Granger made the fans forget about Old What's His Name. Granger averaged 24.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Though he will never be Kobe, he's still pretty damned good.

Goats

- Hasheem Thabeet- C

Okay, maybe it's unfair to call Thabeet a goat but in his sophomore year, the big man did little to impress, playing on his third NLL team in two years. He is still young, but he could be a D-League candidate again this year. Nick has him penciled in to start, but the INSIDER thinks he should think again.


Looking to the future

The Nuggets come into the new season already over the salary cap. Between Howard, Granger and Devin Harris they have three positions set, but SG and C are dicey. Martell Webster is the favorite to start, but he's more of a three and may have trouble keeping with faster guards. The only other big on the team besides Thabeet is the equally unimpressive Hassan Whiteside. Carl Landry is also likely to play elsewhere, leaving another big hole in the bench. If the Nugs want to keep their big three, they need to trade Webster and Marvin Williams, turning those two players into five or so quality bench guys. It's just too much money to tie up into bench guys.

The draft isn't going to help them either. Etwaun Moore can step in and play some minutes at the two off the bench, but he can't start. If the Nuggets don't surround their big three with some better role players, the INSIDER doesn't seem them reaching the Finals again this year.


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