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ever since he was in NY/Orlando everyone KNEW he could play...just depended on the system...is it possible to snag him next season with the $10 million trade exception ?

would he fit here?

or do we use it to find a quicker, younger, smaller, playmaker who can drain the 3?

(would love to have Telfair training under CB right now)

Sure it'd be nice to have him, but I wouldn't use the TPE on him. If he can't be had for MLE type money. He shouldn't be making anywhere near that much....and it'd be kind of silly to use a 10 million dollar TPE on a guy making MLE type of money. I would say just use our MLE to try and sign him, but we'll need that for Birdman.

I'd rather just go for a cheaper guy like Anthony Parker, and save the TPE to maybe get a low level star later on.

We will need to replace LK and possibly DJ. It also sends like we will need to pump some talent into our bench if JR will start. This guy could be a good idea.

I'm more on the Rasheed Wallace boat. I think he would be great for opening up the paint when Melo needs to attack.

No chance in hell the Lakers let him go to a team that could potentially improve against them. He is young, talented, and grew up in the LA area. It would be a marketing disaster if they allowed us to get him.

Fellas, we are going to have to use our MLE on Birdman...we don't have Bird rights on him. That leaves only the LLE and the TPE. Rasheed said he wouldn't play for less that $8 mill... I hope they don't even think about the TPE for Sheed...that would be awful... vet minimum...sure, but they can't afford more. I think they will probably offer LK a 3 year deal about $9.5 mill or just see if he will take the qualifying offer of about 2.7 mill. Their biggest need is much higher quality back up PG, so Chauncey doesn't have to play so many minutes and a big man that can consistently hit the 15 to 18 ft jumper.....however, we have at least a few more games to play... and with this run..maybe we can convince some to take a discount to try to win a ring... Wow, who thought we could actually say that??? maybe it's just wishful thinking?????

The Nuggies are projected to have 8 players under contract for next season at 66 million. The luxury tax is projected to be at 70 million. If you use the Camby trade exception you are already way in the luxury tax with only 9 players on the roster.

The Birdman is going to want a long term contract. He's 30 and he heavily relies on his athleticism. With teams holding out for 2010 it will be interesting to see the Birdmans market value this summer.

I might add more later but the 2nd half has just started.

Two glaring holes right now- backup PG, and legit 7 footer. I have nothing against Nene, Birdman, and Kenyon, but we NEED a post player that can back some one down. Game 5 against the Lakers is a perfect scenario-- no scoring in over 5 minutes is exactly when you need a post presence. There is no one on the market that fits that build, so I really worry about how to improve this team.

By the way, Chauncey should continue to diminish over the end of this contract, so we need to be scouting a future PG furiously. Ariza does not fit a need right now, especially for the contract he'll command.

Ok let’s talk Andersen. First let me say he was a huge pickup for the Nuggets last summer. Second, I’m having serious reservations about saying the Nuggets should re-sign him.
We know Birdman is an elite athlete and his entire game predicates on hustle and athleticism. Birdman will turn 31 this July. His agent is likely to ask for the full MLE (long term contract) this summer. So his contract would be like 5 years starting at 5.5 million dollars. I’m not sure he’ll command that much money as many teams are holding out for 2010. It only takes one team so we shall see.

I’m having a hard time justifying re-signing him to a big contract considering how many open roster spots we’ll have to fill and the Nuggets will have to go into the luxury tax at least a little to field a roster.

With Marcus Camby he had issues getting out on screens and showing as a nugget. He liked playing close to the basket and pulling down rebounds and blocking shots off the ball. Camby also was a guy who as a low post player you could play through his chest.

Tonight the Lakers post players were able to play through Chris Andersen. Andersen also was jumping at anything that even looked like an attempted shot. The Lakers played into that and got him in the air. Andersen is admittedly very into blocking shots. He says he counts them. That is very cool, but as JR Smith has discovered there is this rule in the NBA known as the charge. Birdman needs to get smarter and pick his spots better to block shots. Birdman’s offensive opponent understands he’s going to chase every shooter for the block which is why you see easy offensive rebounds by guys like Gasol who got easy put backs.

My understanding is David Andersen was making 1.8 million euros in Russia (now making less in Barcelona I believe). He’s expressed interest in the NBA and has an out in his contract. The Hawks aren’t going to pay him what it will take to bring him here. He hasn’t come to the NBA because he doesn’t want to play at the minimum level for a year. I’ve seen message boards saying he wants something like 4 or 5 million a year or something. Well that isn’t going to happen and based on more recent comments I think he understands that. What I could see is 6 million over 2 years with a 4 million player option. The Euro is more closely valued towards the dollar which helps as well.
Andersen is 28 years old and has a lot of experience in big games over in Europe. He has excellent range on his shot as well. There are plenty of scouting reports and video out there if you are interested in reading. The Hawks are going to be cheap so they’d likely take a future 2nd rounder for him. He must have a deal by July 15 because his NBA out ends then.

The other overseas free agent that would be a cheap interesting guy is Ksistof Lavrinovic. He’s 29 and a pretty nice athlete at 6’11 238 in Italy. He shot 50% on 2.8 attempts per game on 3 pointers. Here is the thing with Lavrinovic. He can move his feet and play defensive. He’s a solid rebounder an has an excellent jumper. He can run the floor, but he doesn’t have a high basketball IQ. This isn’t a guy you can put in the low or high post and run the offense through him. He’ll take a bad shot or turn the ball over. He can get his shot off an offensive rebound, fast break finish, or open J. He would be a nice fit off the bench to compliment guys who can score the ball and draw the D. The guy is a late bloomer and was convicted of rape in the past.

The Nuggets also could look to address the need in the 2nd round assuming Josh Heytfelt is available. The Nuggets are trying to win a title so I really don’t see him as the first big off the bench obviously, but I could definitely see him replace Petro in his role. Heytfelt also has a nice outside stroke.

I really like Dasic in the 2nd round, but now I am wondering if the Nuggets will look to bring Kleiza back. If they do it makes it harder to justify drafting Dasic. What does come to mind is Senior Jerel McNeal. McNeal lists at 6’3, but he is a good athlete and has a long wingspan in my estimation. McNeal was an accomplished scorer in college and took the challenge to guard talented guys on the ball. We’ll have to see how he measures in, but he looks like he might be that roleplayer the Nuggets always seemed to be after in the past. Vo had the offensive game, but he had no defense. Buckner worked hard on defense, but he wasn’t a solid option on the other end. McNeal is a guy who might play off of JR, Billups, and Melo quite well. Especially if Jones isn’t coming back I think drafting a guard who has the skills to play defense and make outside shots is something the Nuggets should look at.

Hopefully the Nuggets can sign Anthony Carter to a 2 year deal at the LLE. I have a hunch the Pacers and Tinsley will come to terms on a buyout this summer. If that’s the case I’d take the risk and give the LLE to Tinsley.

One thing I didn’t mention above is the Nuggets take a 3 million dollar cap hit due to the Dice buyout next year. So technically the Nuggets are at 69 million (70 million being the likely luxury tax threshold) with 8 guys on the books.

So let’s assume a few things. The Nuggets trade a 2nd rounder and sign David Andersen for 3 years 10 million. The Nuggets then use their remaining MLE money on Chris Wilcox at 3 years at around 8 million. Plus we’ll assume Anthony Carter comes back on the LLE.

The Nuggets will use their 2nd rounder on McNeal and still have Linas Kleiza as a restricted free agent. The Nuggets should plan to match reasonable offers. Due to the economy and 2010 situation the Nuggets should get a good buy. Hopefully his contact starts out at 4 million next year.

Steven Hunter is a valuable expiring contract along with Balkman. I’d like to see Hunter moved for an off guard by himself, but you could move Balkman and Hunter for James Posey. New Orleans has clearly shown an interest in cutting payroll. Maybe they justify the trade by saying its to play more of Wright. Anyways judging by that OKC deal that didn’t happen…. it is a possibility.

Let’s work some math here. You start off at 69 million and end up at 80 million with a full roster. If you give birdman the MLE you only have 8 guys (hunter doesn’t count) on the roster that can play with already 74.5 million spent. You don’t have to follow my exact model or my exact numbers. My point is that you can get a lot more (and you have a lot of open spots) to fill with the team already 1 million off from the luxury tax

C- Nene PF- Kmart SF- Melo SG- Posey PG- Billups
Bench- Kleiza, JR Smith, Anthony Carter, David Andersen, Chris Wilcox, Jerel McNeal, Sonny Weems

Holy ****...

Anyone want to summarize?

my off-season:

let go: AC (unless he takes a Jason Hart role/contract), Petro, Hart.

re-sign:
Birdman, 3.5 MLE
Jones, minimum
LK, qualifying offer (and that only)

draft Danny Green OR Patrick Mills with OKC's 2nd.

TARGET (not all of them obviously):
Azubuike, Anthony Parker, Childress/Pargo, Wilcox (not too much), Sessions/Charlie V (Bucks can't keep both).

Dream, but try to get Okafor or Caron Butler for the TE.

almost famous wrote:Holy ****...

Anyone want to summarize?

Sure. 09/10 Nuggets under contract. 8 players (7 that actually can play) for a total of 69 million. Projected luxury tax figure 70 million. That gives you one million to work with before the tax and 7 open roster spots.

Other than that expect Birdman at 31 to want a long term contract at or as close to the MLE as he can get. In summary it might not be wise to bring him back when you consider trying to fill out this roster.

1. Birdman will want a long contract, but there won't be many teams under the current economy that will go any longer than 3 years..maybe 4 years. No one will offer more than the MLE for a player that does not start. 3 year 12 to 15 mill??? maybe it's not worth it, but he's been a huge part of the sucess of this team. I think Birdman would take a little less to stay here, but how much??? but 3 years would be max contract length.

2. You MUST find a back up PG. Chauncey can't play 36 minutes or more a game. You can see in the playoffs, he's playing too many minutes and it's hurting his game. Maybe Hinrich for the TPE???? it's just a suggestion. AC just doesn't do enough...yes, he occasionally has some good games, but you can't leave him out there in a playoff series.

3. Yes, you have to find another big that has post presence, but offensively there just aren't many. Maybe you can convince Nesterovic he could bang people around in the post for the LLE??? I doubt it, but maybe. They need to find a big body to bang around in the post and help keep Nene out of foul trouble.

4. If you really believe post scoring is an issue, you can see if Phily would trade Brand for K-mart...I doubt it, but Brand is a huge risk after all his injuries, not to mention K-mart D is better than Brand

^^^ how much luxury tax do you think the Nuggets will pony up? by the time you get 12 players on the roster how deep will the team be and what will the payroll be.

That's the hard part. You are starting with 7 players at 69 million.

you hate us and you want a piece of us, how nice

SALMIEN wrote:you hate us and you want a piece of us, how nice

talking to me?

dam IF you guys really offer Ariza that $10mill/yr you can have him

pickIBL wrote:^^^ how much luxury tax do you think the Nuggets will pony up? by the time you get 12 players on the roster how deep will the team be and what will the payroll be.

That's the hard part. You are starting with 7 players at 69 million.

Trades can be made, how do you think we went from 85 million or whatever it was to 69 million this season?

LApwnd wrote:dam IF you guys really offer Ariza that $10mill/yr you can have him

they don't have to offer all of it

What is the facination with sg and sf, the Nuggets need an upgrade at backup PG and another big, preffereably one that can hit jump shots and rebound.

The Rebel wrote:What is the facination with sg and sf, the Nuggets need an upgrade at backup PG and another big, preffereably one that can hit jump shots and rebound.

Agreed. Only way we might look at a sg is if someone give DJ a decent contract offer. I dont think we are gonna go past the min with him, although its possible we give him the bi-annual exception.

Birdman will be back for a majority of the mid-level exception.

AC might sign for the min but i hope that is only to be a 3rd point guard. This team needs a legit number 2 point guard. AC makes far too many mistakes and it is pretty obvious after looking at his minutes from this series, that he needs to be replaced. In the wins, he played only 6 minutes. Someone for Chauncey to mentor but who could contribute right away would be the best.

LK wont get much of an offer here in the NBA. I could easily see him going overseas if he doesnt stay here for the qualifying offer or a 3 year smaller deal. I could see Renaldo Balkman or Sonny Weems replacing him in the regular rotation.

I could see us bringing back Petro as insurance for the Bigs, but only on a very small deal.

Does Hunters contract come off the books for injured retirement or can he just be that insurance big finally? or are more is he just nursing an injury?

I think Kroenke would be willing to pay into the tax a bit and use the trade exception if he were given a player that could take this team to the next level. That in my mind would have to be Okafor and we would probably have to come up with something creative.

Whats also the deal with Jason Hart still being under contract. Could be a trade piece if he has a cut clause in that contract.