OT: Daily Thoughts

pickIBL · Post #301 » by **pickIBL** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 6:29 pm

I've seen a few Nuggets games live and watched most. I really don't see anything to be upset about. The injuries just flat out mounted up. New coach, some player shuffling, and a bunch of injuries. Frankly I think the team could do a lot worse.

Unfortunately it might be a stretch to think the Nuggets will end up with Parker or Wiggins, but I must say Mario Hezonja or Dante Exum might be a great consolation prize.

Hezonja is definitely the more polished shooter. If he was loaned like Eriksson his value would be sky high, but they value him even more so they are keeping him on the roster playing a limited role. At 18 to be seeing time with FCB is pretty awesome. So the Nuggets need a two guard and someday down the road Hezonja could do a good job filling that spot. His ceiling is pretty high as a 6'7 athlete with some legit guard/wing skills.

For the longest time I had settled that Faried is going to be traded. However, I'd still prefer he is not moved. I don't want the Nuggets to be just a dumb talented team. You can play up tempo and be smart. The show-time lakers aren't a bad example. They had old man Kareem in the middle and were championship contenders.

The ideal scenario would be to find a skilled guy who can flat out execute in the half-court to pair with this Lawson led bunch. Pau Gasol is a pretty good example of what I'd like with the Russian backing him up. But Pau is older, has past injuries, and he wouldn't come cheap (or come at all). So the next best thing is FCB player and Jazz property Ante Tomic. At 7'2 with a long wingspan his game is fairly similar.

The Jazz FO has shown itself to be a rather stubborn group over the years. They got a pass at the last deadline for getting nothing back for Millsap and Jefferson, but this year it looks pretty depressing with Marvin Williams still on the team and other FOs hell bent on overpaying Gordon.

So I'd go ahead and take advantage of the stubbornness to work a deal for Tomic. He'll be in the last year of his deal with FCB which will motivate them to compromise on a buyout. I suspect the total Nugget cost would be around the MLE.

What Ideally would happen is you pair Tomic and Faried together. Mozgov is the third big off the bench. Plus Arthur, Chandler, Randolph, Miller, and Gallinari are able to fill in with spot minutes at the 4. So this would allow the FO to put Hickson and McGee on the block.

This is the sort of thing that could happen around the draft. You could have the Tomic thing worked out and obtain his rights around that time too. Then you are starting a high IQ guy versus McGee. His offensive game is just way more refined and dominant than Mozgov. He's the type of guy that can balance out this team.

Powder Blue · Post #302 » by **Powder Blue** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:14 am

pickIBL!! Been missing you and your obscure euro-league roster recommendations. All the mocks I've seen have Exum going 5 or 6....we'll need some luck in the lotto to get a pick that low.

pickIBL · Post #303 » by **pickIBL** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:47 pm

Powder Blue wrote:pickIBL!! Been missing you and your obscure euro-league roster recommendations. All the mocks I've seen have Exum going 5 or 6....we'll need some luck in the lotto to get a pick that low.

I liked him when he came over for 1 game last year, but his unwillingness to play college, d-league, or euroball (he graduated HS in Nov) scares me. Part of it is because the NBA teams will get to work him out, but the average fan will not get to see him. How do I know he's any better than Hezonja? I have no way to tell.

eathb_au · Post #304 » by **eathb_au** » Sun Mar 2, 2014 5:59 am

Connelly gave up on Hamilton too soon.

I'd rather not had signed Foye and kept Hamilton instead. What a waste.

doc.end · Post #305 » by **doc.end** » Sun Mar 2, 2014 10:46 am

pickIBL wrote:
Powder Blue wrote:pickIBL!! Been missing you and your obscure euro-league roster recommendations. All the mocks I've seen have Exum going 5 or 6....we'll need some luck in the lotto to get a pick that low.

I liked him when he came over for 1 game last year, but his unwillingness to play college, d-league, or euroball (he graduated HS in Nov) scares me. Part of it is because the NBA teams will get to work him out, but the average fan will not get to see him. How do I know he's any better than Hezonja? I have no way to tell.

U-19 last summer. Exum played for Australia. He played off the ball with a traditional point guard handling the ball. He either looked to score, mostly one on one or abstained from the offense (saving energy?), didn't move off th ball at all. Used his athleticism on both side of the floor, defended, did some fast breaks. Had little help on his team, just some under the basket hustling from front court players. I watched him against Serbia where they stood no chance, so hard to tell, whether it was his norm or not. It looked like Australia was a one man team.

I am no scout but from what I remember he seemed to be driving all the time, no marks of running offense for others regularly (but for whom) nor any marks of him being a shooter. Oh and he looked super thin, especially in comparison to Smart (who is closest guard to him in the mocks).

On another note, sad to see Veselý out of rotation so soon :-?

Post #306 » by **The Rebel** » Sun Mar 2, 2014 2:16 pm

eathb_au wrote:Connelly gave up on Hamilton too soon.

I'd rather not had signed Foye and kept Hamilton instead. What a waste.

I agree, in fact I would go a step further and say that not getting another center project and instead bringing in Hickson and Foye both were huge mistakes.

Powder Blue · Post #307 » by **Powder Blue** » Sun Mar 2, 2014 4:45 pm

Hamilton hadn't done ish...how long do you give the guy? Cap-wise yea prefer him over higher priced Foye for long-term flexibility but Foye was brought in back when they thought we'd have a full deck.

MidMountain · Post #308 » by **MidMountain** » Sun Mar 2, 2014 5:16 pm

Powder Blue wrote:Hamilton hadn't done ish...how long do you give the guy? Cap-wise yea prefer him over higher priced Foye for long-term flexibility but Foye was brought in back when they thought we'd have a full deck.

I agree, Hamilton had plenty of chances and never did squat. I don't miss him at all.

I think Foye would have been a good signing if we had stayed healthy. One of our weaknesses has always been outside shooting, Foye can provide that. He is out of his element now that he's asked to play a bigger role.

Powder Blue · Post #309 » by **Powder Blue** » Sun Mar 2, 2014 5:34 pm

MidMountain wrote:
Powder Blue wrote:Hamilton hadn't done ish...how long do you give the guy? Cap-wise yea prefer him over higher priced Foye for long-term flexibility but Foye was brought in back when they thought we'd have a full deck.

I agree, Hamilton had plenty of chances and never did squat. I don't miss him at all.

I think Foye would have been a good signing if we had stayed healthy. One of our weaknesses has always been outside shooting, Foye can provide that. He is out of his element now that he's asked to play a bigger role.

Very well said MidMountain, please post more often.

pickIBL · Post #310 » by **pickIBL** » Sun Mar 2, 2014 6:18 pm

doc.end wrote:
pickIBL wrote:
Powder Blue wrote:pickIBL!! Been missing you and your obscure euro-league roster recommendations. All the mocks I've seen have Exum going 5 or 6....we'll need some luck in the lotto to get a pick that low.

I liked him when he came over for 1 game last year, but his unwillingness to play college, d-league, or euroball (he graduated HS in Nov) scares me. Part of it is because the NBA teams will get to work him out, but the average fan will not get to see him. How do I know he's any better than Hezonja? I have no way to tell.

U-19 last summer. Exum played for Australia. He played off the ball with a traditional point guard handling the ball. He either looked to score, mostly one on one or abstained from the offense (saving energy?), didn't move off th ball at all. Used his athleticism on both side of the floor, defended, did some fast breaks. Had little help on his team, just some under the basket hustling from front court players. I watched him against Serbia where they stood no chance, so hard to tell, whether it was his norm or not. It looked like Australia was a one man team.

I am no scout but from what I remember he seemed to be driving all the time, no marks of running offense for others regularly (but for whom) nor any marks of him being a shooter. Oh and he looked super thin, especially in comparison to Smart (who is closest guard to him in the mocks).

On another note, sad to see Veselý out of rotation so soon

I saw the same thing. It showed us he belongs as a 1st round 2014 pick. But outside of that I need more info against some guys older than 17 or 18 if we are talking top 5.

Teens On Acid · Post #311 » by **Teens On Acid** » Tue Mar 4, 2014 6:42 am

not even a game thread today huh...roll on tank, roll on

RRFB · Post #312 » by **RRFB** » Tue Mar 4, 2014 7:22 am

http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_25 ... -lauvergne

Nuggets have rising prospect in Europe's Joffrey Lauvergne
Joffrey Lauvergne, 22, is looking like a keeper, playing in Serbia. Selected with the 55th pick in last year's NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies and traded to the Nuggets on draft night, the 6-foot-11 power forward and center is turning heads — quickly and impressively.

"We thought he'd make a big jump," Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly said. "We're lucky to see that the jump was so dramatic and he's competing at the highest level and he's doing really well. He's a good player. We really like his intensity. We like his focus. We like that he doesn't take plays off and how tough he is."

And with a nice touch that reaches out to 3-point range, he has the tools to become a nice "stretch-four" for a Nuggets team that could use that kind of versatility in its frontcourt. The Nuggets hope to have the native of France in uniform at summer league this July

Almost forgot about this guy. All hail King Joffrey!

darivo · Post #313 » by **darivo** » Tue Mar 4, 2014 12:52 pm

Wilson & Foye looks better with Ty around

Is faried's Defense improving? I don't think so

Powder Blue · Post #314 » by **Powder Blue** » Tue Mar 4, 2014 3:11 pm

Teens On Acid wrote:not even a game thread today huh...roll on tank, roll on

Is there an option to simulate the rest of the regular season?

pickIBL · Post #315 » by **pickIBL** » Tue Mar 4, 2014 3:40 pm

RRFB wrote:http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_25261495/nuggets-have-rising-prospect-europes-joffrey-lauvergne
Nuggets have rising prospect in Europe's Joffrey Lauvergne
Joffrey Lauvergne, 22, is looking like a keeper, playing in Serbia. Selected with the 55th pick in last year's NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies and traded to the Nuggets on draft night, the 6-foot-11 power forward and center is turning heads — quickly and impressively.

"We thought he'd make a big jump," Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly said. "We're lucky to see that the jump was so dramatic and he's competing at the highest level and he's doing really well. He's a good player. We really like his intensity. We like his focus. We like that he doesn't take plays off and how tough he is."

And with a nice touch that reaches out to 3-point range, he has the tools to become a nice "stretch-four" for a Nuggets team that could use that kind of versatility in its frontcourt. The Nuggets hope to have the native of France in uniform at summer league this July

Almost forgot about this guy. All hail King Joffrey!

It was a very good selection in the 2013 draft. He bounced from 3 teams last year and the Nuggets got a steal. Now he has stability and is showing his development. They could bring him over this summer if they like.

Teens On Acid · Post #316 » by **Teens On Acid** » Tue Mar 4, 2014 9:38 pm

RRFB · Post #317 » by **RRFB** » Wed Mar 5, 2014 1:01 am

Yes, I love those jerseys. I always hoped they'd bring them back but I never thought they actually would. The timing is strange though - St. Patricks day seems like an odd occasion to bring back an old jersey that has no green whatsoever.

Powder Blue · Post #318 » by **Powder Blue** » Wed Mar 5, 2014 3:06 am

Those jersey's have losing written all over them....

Teens On Acid · Post #319 » by **Teens On Acid** » Wed Mar 5, 2014 6:37 am

Powder Blue wrote:Those jersey's have losing written all over them....

fitting then that we bust them out now.

that being said, i love them. so happy to see them retro. i'll be copping a Lawson one for sure

Powder Blue · Post #320 » by **Powder Blue** » Wed Mar 5, 2014 2:53 pm

Teens On Acid wrote:
Powder Blue wrote:Those jersey's have losing written all over them....

fitting then that we bust them out now.

that being said, i love them. so happy to see them retro. i'll be copping a Lawson one for sure

What's to love about those? There is zero style to them. They need to bring back the rainbows, those were legit.