ImageImageImage

Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season

Moderator: THE J0KER

Powder Blue
Analyst
Posts: 3,444
And1: 642
Joined: Dec 28, 2004
   

Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#1 » by Powder Blue » Thu Apr 14, 2016 3:41 am

Another season is in the books, never thought I'd miss our one and done postseasons but I really do now...

PG- I never bought into all the Mudiay hype the team was trying to push in the preseason. That being said I think he came around and had a pretty good season for a 19-20 year old that didn't play much ball last year. His numbers towards of the end of the season showed improvement and I'll be excited to see how his sophomore season goes. Nelson was serviceable but I hate his contract going forward. DJ was a great pickup, came in and gave the Nuggets some scoring punch. I'd be much happier if he was under contract instead of Nelson next season.

SG- I gotta hand it to Gary Harris, I wrote him off after seeing his lackluster summer league but the kid worked hard and showed that he can hang with the big boys. Shot the ball well and played good D. All that being said I think the Nuggets have to make a push to upgrade this position in the offseason. Harris and some D-Leaguer's won't get it done.

SF- Gallo was Gallo...had a nice little season but he is what he is at this point in his career. He needs more help. Losing Chandler for the season was a big blow to this club. Barton got a lot of 6th man of the year hype. Not sure he'll get it on this losing team but he was a bright spot. Hopefully he can develop a little more consistency going forward.

PF- I don't know how Faried fits in with this team going forward. Much like Gallo he is what he is at this point. I don't know that he'll develop a much needed jump shot.(Hit a 3 after I typed this) That being said he's still an above average player..but it might be time for a change of scene for the manimal. Arthur was also who he is, wouldn't be upset if he opted out and went elsewhere.

C- Jokic is probably the most surprising player of the year. Kid has a bright future. I was really worried the entire year would be a waste for Nurkic but thankfully he came on late in the season. I think him being on the same page with coach and seeing some positive minutes here at the end of the year will be good for him as he works out this offseason. Also want to give a shout of to Joffrey, I've liked the improvement i've seen from him in his 1.25 seasons on this team. If the Nuggets make a trade for a big name it's highly likely at least Nurkic or Jokic will be involved.

Coaching- Malone did a nice job given the young team he was given. I think he was able to establish a better culture and given the progress I saw in the young players I'd have to say whatever he did with them worked as well. The team also played pretty hard and closed out some games I didn't expect them to, something we didn't see when Shaw was on the bench.

Overall 33-34 wins is a little more than the media expected but right about where I figured they'd end up. I was hoping for more but we just didn't have the mature talent to get the job done. A big offseason is looming. We have the assets and draft picks to make a push for an impact player or two and I hope we can make something happen. I don't know if young player improvement alone will get us into the top 8, not when Utah and Portland can expect to make improvements as well.
Riko
Rookie
Posts: 1,090
And1: 689
Joined: Dec 17, 2015
   

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#2 » by Riko » Thu Apr 14, 2016 5:30 am

Good season overall. The rookies have a good season with some sparkle, the sophomore prove that they can be at least good role-player in the league, there are a couple of good player of the bench (Barton and Lauv) and Malone did a nice job that make me optimistic about the next year.
But, unfortunately, this year prove that we badly need a superstar to come back in the PO race: even a good team like Utah can't make the PO without a legitimate first option.
Tomecak
Ballboy
Posts: 44
And1: 12
Joined: Feb 15, 2016
   

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#3 » by Tomecak » Thu Apr 14, 2016 10:07 am

I think it was the season we all expected.

We had some great games and wins and were completely flat in others. It's a young team with some missing pieces most of the time. But in my opinion the bright spots jut out. We have 2 shots in the lottery and also the 15th and 18th pick. That's a lot of assets for a team, which already has some intriguing pieces. We can move on from here and this team is so much different than at this day a year before. Malone is the perfect coach in this situation. Is he a top-5 coach? No, but he understands the game and knows how to handle a young team and set the right culture. We have a future, now it's time to get lucky and set an even better future by adding some more pieces. Can we contend next year for the playoffs? Yes, i do think so. Some teams will slide, but on the other hand teams like Utah or the Wolves are only going to get better over the years. This is a cruel league, where you ultimately need to have a star.

Player of the season to me was Gary Harris. Will Barton might be the more sexy pick, but Harris showed that he can be an NBA All-Defense player and got his shooting settled. On defense he's so terrifying. Fantastic hands, moves well and just knows when to be aggressive. I like him and the pairing with Mudiay a lot. Barton had a standout year, Mudiay showed his potential and Jokic might be the most fun big man we've had in a long time.

A little bit disappointing was the situation with Jusuf Nurkic. Yes, he was hurt and looked not right when on the floor. Even in the later stages of the season. I thought he'd be more developed at this point. But he has to work hard on his strength and conditioning in the off-season. He got the talent, he just needs to put the work in it and stay healthy.

Dream scenario: hit the lottery and get Brandon Ingram in the draft + use Faried, Gallinari and picks to get Kevin Love.
Riko
Rookie
Posts: 1,090
And1: 689
Joined: Dec 17, 2015
   

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#4 » by Riko » Thu Apr 14, 2016 11:52 am

Tomecak wrote:Dream scenario: hit the lottery and get Brandon Ingram in the draft + use Faried, Gallinari and picks to get Kevin Love.


I just don't get all this love for Love (sorry for the joke :D ) he is a burden.
I can understand trade and break apart our core for a player like Butler (offense and defense above the average) but not for Love.
RRFB
Assistant Coach
Posts: 3,900
And1: 2,334
Joined: Dec 24, 2006
Location: Denver, CO

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#5 » by RRFB » Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:02 pm

The main goal of this season was to change the culture. By all accounts, that's been done. Everything we've heard about the locker room sounds like a night/day difference from last year. Kudos to Malone for that.

The next goal was to develop youth. Mudiay and Jokic essentially got as many minutes as they could handle, and they deserved it. Both showed steady improvement throughout the season and look like legit prospects moving forward. Harris also had a great bounceback year. No one knew what we were going to get out of him, and he proved that he belongs in this league. Nurkic was probably the only big disappointment, but at least he made it out of the doghouse and finished with a solid March/April. Hopefully a healthy summer and training camp helps him out.

Gallo had a career year, but of course, it didn't come without a few months missed due to injury. It's pretty clear that we'll never be able to rely on him or Chandler, and that really sucks.

A lot of people seem ready to move on from Faried, but I think he had a good year. His defense still isn't great, but it looked much better this season. He's no longer forced into being a focal point of the offense and that made a big difference. He's so much more effective when he's able to just run around, crash the glass and create havoc. He also brings a nice change of pace that none of the young bigs can really provide. Not sure where he fits into the front court long-term, but I'm fine with keeping him around for now.

Overall, I'd call it a successful year. I'm easily more excited for next season than I have been after the last few years and they seem to be heading in the right direction. Really curious to see what the roster looks like come training camp.
NuggetsWY
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 10,390
And1: 4,124
Joined: Oct 28, 2015
Location: Cheyenne, WY
 

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#6 » by NuggetsWY » Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:16 pm

RRFB wrote:A lot of people seem ready to move on from Faried, but I think he had a good year. His defense still isn't great, but it looked much better this season. He's no longer forced into being a focal point of the offense and that made a big difference. He's so much more effective when he's able to just run around, crash the glass and create havoc. He also brings a nice change of pace that none of the young bigs can really provide. Not sure where he fits into the front court long-term, but I'm fine with keeping him around for now.

Overall, I'd call it a successful year. I'm easily more excited for next season than I have been after the last few years and they seem to be heading in the right direction. Really curious to see what the roster looks like come training camp.

It might be time to trade Faried. No doubt there are a few teams that would love to have him coming off the bench. But having him coming off Denver's bench isn't a bad idea either. What I do know is that he always seems to have a great attitude, regardless of everything else, he brings serious effort. Plus, while I am not a stats expert, it just seems like even though his personal stats aren't impressive, it seems like team stats improve when he's on the floor.
skywalker33
Nuggets Forum Mock Draft Champ
Posts: 14,089
And1: 5,449
Joined: Jun 02, 2014
       

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#7 » by skywalker33 » Thu Apr 14, 2016 5:57 pm

RRFB bring this season into perspective with his first two points. The change of culture to our team, while I don't feel it's complete, it does seem to be going in the right direction. And the amt of player development, all I can say is WOW. These players have responded well, not only to Malone as a new coach but being thrown into the fire with PT. Jokic came out of nowhere and Mudiay, while struggling at first, reduced his TO's, increased his shooting percentage while maintaining his court-vision and play-making ability has me drooling to see him next year. Give credit to Dee Brown, Mike Miller and some of the other unsung heroes (coaches and veterans ) towards building a strong future for this team !!!

Overall, the season was a success IMO, could've blown up on us but didn't. That said, this is a huge off-season for us as well, need to keep that momentum going with the 3 draft picks, I may have to go out to Las Vegas for Summer League this year.
Texas Chuck wrote:I'd like to see Utah, and Denver lose


Exactly as I've been saying all along !!
The Rebel
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 25,186
And1: 11,359
Joined: Mar 05, 2005
 

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#8 » by The Rebel » Thu Apr 14, 2016 6:10 pm

Riko wrote:Good season overall. The rookies have a good season with some sparkle, the sophomore prove that they can be at least good role-player in the league, there are a couple of good player of the bench (Barton and Lauv) and Malone did a nice job that make me optimistic about the next year.
But, unfortunately, this year prove that we badly need a superstar to come back in the PO race: even a good team like Utah can't make the PO without a legitimate first option.

I don't know if any of these guys develop into stars, but I would say it is too early to tell.
Riko wrote:
Tomecak wrote:Dream scenario: hit the lottery and get Brandon Ingram in the draft + use Faried, Gallinari and picks to get Kevin Love.


I just don't get all this love for Love (sorry for the joke :D ) he is a burden.
I can understand trade and break apart our core for a player like Butler (offense and defense above the average) but not for Love.


You talk about needing a star but I don't think you realize how much Butler struggled through his 1st 3 years it is way too early to tell what the young guys will become. Also love is a beast on offense, and not terrible on defense, he can be a 25 and 10 guy and can score in a variety of ways. Plus since his time in the LeBron system has not been great he will likely come cheap.
TunaFish
Head Coach
Posts: 6,543
And1: 6,124
Joined: Apr 08, 2005
 

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#9 » by TunaFish » Thu Apr 14, 2016 6:58 pm

Mudiay, to me, is an exceptional talent. I think he will be a star but I know he must improve to get there. Jokic has a a chance to be special but he is a little soft on defense. Nurkic is going to be real good. These three are the Nuggets' future and I would not trade any of them.

My problem with G Harris is that his shot disappears at critical times and his height is short for defense of many present day shooting guards. I like him as a backup SG, although his improvement this year was impressive. I would not be in hurry to trade him.

Gallo is a key player (perhaps their best player) but I would trade him if he brought back a star level player. My thinking is that the FO likes Gallo too much to part with him easily. Faried is a good player at his peak, great rebounder with defensive liabilities. Chandler is a wild card with his injuries. Barton looked great for a while until the league caught up to him on penetrations and his outside shoot disappeared. Possibly he is a developmental keeper. However, these are your best trade pieces outside of the future team core.

The rest of the roster is expendable to me.
Canned in Denver.
Riko
Rookie
Posts: 1,090
And1: 689
Joined: Dec 17, 2015
   

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#10 » by Riko » Thu Apr 14, 2016 7:07 pm

The Rebel wrote:
Riko wrote:Good season overall. The rookies have a good season with some sparkle, the sophomore prove that they can be at least good role-player in the league, there are a couple of good player of the bench (Barton and Lauv) and Malone did a nice job that make me optimistic about the next year.
But, unfortunately, this year prove that we badly need a superstar to come back in the PO race: even a good team like Utah can't make the PO without a legitimate first option.

I don't know if any of these guys develop into stars, but I would say it is too early to tell.
Riko wrote:
Tomecak wrote:Dream scenario: hit the lottery and get Brandon Ingram in the draft + use Faried, Gallinari and picks to get Kevin Love.


I just don't get all this love for Love (sorry for the joke :D ) he is a burden.
I can understand trade and break apart our core for a player like Butler (offense and defense above the average) but not for Love.


You talk about needing a star but I don't think you realize how much Butler struggled through his 1st 3 years it is way too early to tell what the young guys will become. Also love is a beast on offense, and not terrible on defense, he can be a 25 and 10 guy and can score in a variety of ways. Plus since his time in the LeBron system has not been great he will likely come cheap.


In my opinion:
1) We don't need another big,
2) Love is atrocious on defense,
3) Maybe Butler won't be a superstar but he improve every year and right now he is a legitimate first option,

If we can get Butlet without sell Jokic/Nurkic we should do it (and obviously in a reasonable trade).
Tomecak
Ballboy
Posts: 44
And1: 12
Joined: Feb 15, 2016
   

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#11 » by Tomecak » Thu Apr 14, 2016 9:30 pm

The question is, where can this team improve the most? On what position?

And the answer is clearly PF. When you have a great PF today in the NBA, you're good. You are talking about Love's bad defense. Ok, fine with me. He's one of the worst defending PFs. But you know what, he would be replacing Kenneth Faried. Not really a big challenge in my opinion. Faried has the potential of beeing a way better defender than he is. But we're saying this for years. At this point of his career, Faried is still the same player he entered the league. A fantastic energy guy, who hustles like crazy and can give you a boost for limited time. Love on the other hand completely changes and uplifts your offense. You can run the offense through him, because of his fantastic passing ability, get him into the post or the three point line. He is still that good and if things go south in Cleveland this playoffs, his value will take another hit.

And please, don't start with Jokic as a regular PF. That's such a longshot.
NuggetsWY
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 10,390
And1: 4,124
Joined: Oct 28, 2015
Location: Cheyenne, WY
 

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#12 » by NuggetsWY » Thu Apr 14, 2016 9:47 pm

On the other had, most teams need to be able to compete from the outside and not just with a stretch-4. Curry-Thompson, Wall-Beal and so on. Another SG would be nice.

Probably more important would be SF, just in case Gallinari and/or Chandler miss part/all of the season. Then again, if the Nuggets draft three SFs, odds are good one could swing to SG and one could swing to PF. Wings that can shoot would definitely be good.
U hova
Pro Prospect
Posts: 832
And1: 481
Joined: Jul 02, 2013
 

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#13 » by U hova » Fri Apr 15, 2016 6:36 am

I'm really confident in Harris, he's not a superstar but he's got a good feel for off-ball play and obviously the defense is there. In terms of constructing a core, I'd rather stick with him than trade or look for a perimeter scorer to replace him. This is only his 2nd year and I think it's worth waiting out one more year before really seeing if we need to move for a 2.

I'm not a fan of Love, and there doesn't seem to be much out there that really makes me want to part with any of our players, but let me quietly slide out this list of Barton, Faried, and Gallinari for everyone to see.
User avatar
psimanic1
Starter
Posts: 2,494
And1: 1,228
Joined: Jul 14, 2014

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#14 » by psimanic1 » Fri Apr 15, 2016 9:32 am

Don't know about you guys, but do you think LAC would trade JJ Redick for something we could offer around lets say Chandler?
NuggetsWY
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 10,390
And1: 4,124
Joined: Oct 28, 2015
Location: Cheyenne, WY
 

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#15 » by NuggetsWY » Fri Apr 15, 2016 2:01 pm

psimanic1 wrote:Don't know about you guys, but do you think LAC would trade JJ Redick for something we could offer around lets say Chandler?

a 31 yr old shooter? great player for a playoff contender now - love his attitude but a lot of money and taking away a slot where a young player could be tried to look towards the future - Nuggets have enough veterans for now - another year or two down the road and adding some one like Redick makes sense - only veterans to seriously consider now are "get on my back and let's go" superstars - but that's just my opinion
skywalker33
Nuggets Forum Mock Draft Champ
Posts: 14,089
And1: 5,449
Joined: Jun 02, 2014
       

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#16 » by skywalker33 » Fri Apr 15, 2016 8:11 pm

Good read on TC's thoughts of the season, most of which I agree....but he does have a lot of "coach-speak"

http://blogs.denverpost.com/nuggets/2016/04/14/tim-connelly-current-state-nuggets/14240/
Texas Chuck wrote:I'd like to see Utah, and Denver lose


Exactly as I've been saying all along !!
NuggetsWY
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 10,390
And1: 4,124
Joined: Oct 28, 2015
Location: Cheyenne, WY
 

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#17 » by NuggetsWY » Fri Apr 15, 2016 9:33 pm

skywalker33 wrote:Good read on TC's thoughts of the season, most of which I agree....but he does have a lot of "coach-speak"

http://blogs.denverpost.com/nuggets/2016/04/14/tim-connelly-current-state-nuggets/14240/

He says they're going to be aggressive but he said that last year and didn't do much, so I don't know what to think. He implied they were not interested in a lot of rookies. He also said that the entire roster was good but not all would be back. Finally he basically said he'd listen to offers. In other words, I have no idea what direction he plans to take.
TunaFish
Head Coach
Posts: 6,543
And1: 6,124
Joined: Apr 08, 2005
 

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#18 » by TunaFish » Fri Apr 15, 2016 9:59 pm

NuggetsWY wrote:
skywalker33 wrote:Good read on TC's thoughts of the season, most of which I agree....but he does have a lot of "coach-speak"

http://blogs.denverpost.com/nuggets/2016/04/14/tim-connelly-current-state-nuggets/14240/

He says they're going to be aggressive but he said that last year and didn't do much, so I don't know what to think. He implied they were not interested in a lot of rookies. He also said that the entire roster was good but not all would be back. Finally he basically said he'd listen to offers. In other words, I have no idea what direction he plans to take.


Of course he shouldn't play his hand out in public. Besides, who knows what offers he may have or not have at this point. Direction comes from action not words.
Canned in Denver.
tstrick33
Junior
Posts: 387
And1: 80
Joined: Jul 22, 2013

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#19 » by tstrick33 » Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:53 pm

TC's put us in a good position. Like he said, we have a ton of cap space and just about everyone signed to deals. We don't have to panic and make moves just to make a move.

Even if we didn't make a single move and just draft stashed all our incoming rookies. This team is still going to improve because of the growth of Mudiay, Jokic, Nurkic, Lauvergne and Harris in the offseason. Add to that, getting Chandler back and you have to be pretty happy about where we stand.

I do expect us to go after some big FA's because our cap space and we don't have any pressure to sign anyone so why not? I think we'll be in the discussion for Beal and who knows we might surprise some people and get him.
skywalker33
Nuggets Forum Mock Draft Champ
Posts: 14,089
And1: 5,449
Joined: Jun 02, 2014
       

Re: Final Thoughts on the 2015-2016 Season 

Post#20 » by skywalker33 » Sat Apr 16, 2016 12:33 am

Doesn't TC say we'll be aggressive EVERY year..GMese
Texas Chuck wrote:I'd like to see Utah, and Denver lose


Exactly as I've been saying all along !!

Return to Denver Nuggets