Welcome to Denver Isaiah Thomas!

[THE J0KER]

Our long-term 3rd guard problem is finally solved on the way none of us expected. It would be pure blasphemy even discuss how some newcomer will fit your team when you get 10M+ player for the veteran minimum contract. It will last maybe just one single season before we part ways if Isaiah wants after this season to take somewhere the starter job, but this one season was crucial for Nuggets. In 2019-20 season Porter will take SF job, so Barton can be moved on backup guard duties, but this season we desperately need another good guard, and IT will bring it for sure!

After Chandler gone, Barton is destined to take the small forward full-time job, without being a backup guard. So all advantages which we have for having such great young backcourt duo in Murray and Harris would disappear because we don't have any decent backup option. Also, when Jokic is on the bench, we really need a good playmaker on the floor. Murray elite offense is related to scoring, not playmaking, Barton time with PG role is gone for next season, so together with Murray and Harris, Isaiah indirectly is going to cover Jokic too. He will be a backup option for Murray and Harris both (when Harris is on the bench Murray takes SG role, IT on PG) so he can play 30mpg every night, but that would be unfair to ask from someone who plays underprice for the veteran minimum, so I guess his playing time will be reduced to about 25 minutes. And please note, with such quality backup guard our backup SF problem is also solved when everyone is healthy because all Barton 30mpg will be now in SF role, so Juancho and Craig is enough for backup.

Another potential big benefit from IT arrival is his well-known ability to play his best basketball in 4th quarter. If Malone will continue to limits Jokic and Harris in that period of the game, it is good at least to have a clutch-time "expert" around, because I don't like how it worked with Barton last season.

Just two seasons ago IT have a phenomenal all-star season, but then have that injury and complicated recovery process. I will be very happy if he will stay at least on a level which he played in LA this year after the trade from Cleveland, approximately 25mpg 15ppg 5apg, which is already 10M+ worth numbers, and I have no doubts, he can do IT!

[Kazuya10]

Yo with that hip... being repaired twice in two seasons... hes done as an impact player.

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[Mac1958]

If he's coming in knowing he's a backup, and he's good with that, I guess this is okay, for the price.

I'm not very confident in this front office at this point.

[Alatan]

Dont know how good will he be but i know that the Nuggets will be fun to watch again if they opt for the all offense approach of the 2017 season.

[psimanic1]

I don't think he can be any worse than the guys we had as backups last few seasons, even if we wanted to bring Harris back I think he would ask for more that IT could get, and if he likes it here maybe we can keep him for 8-10 mil contract because I don't think any team would give him starting job even if he breaks out again this season..

[THE J0KER]

Yo with that hip... being repaired twice in two seasons... hes done as an impact player.

With a Murray-Harris-Barton-Millsap-Jokic starting lineup, we don't need at all anyone from the Bench to make difference. We need just someone to carry our 2nd lineup to not down so badly like last two seasons, especially when Jokic is out (when we have big playmaking and scoring problem). If he stays enough healthy (at least 60 games + playoff) and at least on 2018 Lakers level of the play (personally, I expect better from him) Nuggets are big winners of this deal, even if we paid him much more than the veteran minimum.

If he's coming in knowing he's a backup, and he's good with that, I guess this is okay, for the price.

I'm not very confident in this front office at this point.

IT is known just one single year as a "star", the rest of the career he is more known as a fanatically hard worker who succeeded to fight all his obvious disadvantages against all odds. His fortuneless episode in Cleveland was the only one where such problems existed, but that was only a product of bad circumstances. There are big pressure and unrealistic big expectation from him after a big injury to replace Irving in Clevland on the all-star level. He did not manage it well, but it is not all his fault. Such fighter should have a positive influence on young players, and he already worked well with Malone in Sacramento.

[The Rebel]

Yo with that hip... being repaired twice in two seasons... hes done as an impact player.

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Last year we went from a bottom 2 bench with Mudiay as the PG to bottom 10 with Devin Harris as the backup PG, having such a bad bench cost us the playoffs. We only need a replacement level backup PG and should have an average bench, which would have put us at least in the 6th spot and arguably in the 3rd spot last season. If Thomas can be that good he will be fine, if not Morris will outplay him and Thomas will be gone.

I don't think he can be any worse than the guys we had as backups last few seasons, even if we wanted to bring Harris back I think he would ask for more that IT could get, and if he likes it here maybe we can keep him for 8-10 mil contract because I don't think any team would give him starting job even if he breaks out again this season..

Thomas is a short term deal due to his age and injury issues, undersized PGs without injury issues all seem to flame out at 31-32 years old. If he comes in and plays well he is gone for a better deal elsewhere and I do not want that contract 2 years from now, if he plays like crap he gets replaced by morris this season. I don't see any way we keep him, and don't see that as a bad thing.

[psimanic1]

You are right, forgot about Morris when I was writing that contract part, I don't want him here either next year if Morris gets ready, but who knows maybe we upgrade Morris to full contract this year and get some SL breakout to 2way one?

[The Rebel]

If he's coming in knowing he's a backup, and he's good with that, I guess this is okay, for the price.

I'm not very confident in this front office at this point.

IT is known just one single year as a "star", the rest of the career he is more known as a fanatically hard worker who succeeded to fight all his obvious disadvantages against all odds. His fortuneless episode in Cleveland was the only one where such problems existed, but that was only a product of bad circumstances. There are big pressure and unrealistic big expectation from him after a big injury to replace Irving in Clevland on the all-star level. He did not manage it well, but it is not all his fault. Such fighter should have a positive influence on young players, and he already worked well with Malone in Sacramento.

What? Sorry but that is just false, the only places he has not had problems were in Boston and for the last 2 months while he was in LA. He was never even offered a contract from Sacramento because the front office and ownership did not like his attitude or play, and he refused to accept that he was not a starter on that team. He forced his way off of the Suns 4 months after signing there because he could not earn the starting job over Bledsoe or Dragic.

We are one of the few teams that have ever helped someone come back from multiple hip surgeries as we did with Wilson Chandler. If the front office and medical staff think he will be okay than he can contribute, but with the minimum contract if his attitude starts we can cut him or dump him in a trade easily so it is a high reward low risk deal, but let's not frame it as some great long term move.

[The Rebel]

You are right, forgot about Morris when I was writing that contract part, I don't want him here either next year if Morris gets ready, but who knows maybe we upgrade Morris to full contract this year and get some SL breakout to 2way one?

We need a bench scorer, so I am okay with bringing in Thomas, but if his attitude starts or he can no longer play, than I just hope that one of the young guys figures out how to score off the bench and Morris can come in and play his more traditional PG game.

[THE J0KER]

If he's coming in knowing he's a backup, and he's good with that, I guess this is okay, for the price.

I'm not very confident in this front office at this point.

IT is known just one single year as a "star", the rest of the career he is more known as a fanatically hard worker who succeeded to fight all his obvious disadvantages against all odds. His fortuneless episode in Cleveland was the only one where such problems existed, but that was only a product of bad circumstances. There are big pressure and unrealistic big expectation from him after a big injury to replace Irving in Clevland on the all-star level. He did not manage it well, but it is not all his fault. Such fighter should have a positive influence on young players, and he already worked well with Malone in Sacramento.

What? Sorry but that is just false, the only places he has not had problems were in Boston and for the last 2 months while he was in LA. He was never even offered a contract from Sacramento because the front office and ownership did not like his attitude or play, and he refused to accept that he was not a starter on that team. He forced his way off of the Suns 4 months after signing there because he could not earn the starting job over Bledsoe or Dragic.

We are one of the few teams that have ever helped someone come back from multiple hip surgeries as we did with Wilson Chandler. If the front office and medical staff think he will be okay than he can contribute, but with the minimum contract if his attitude starts we can cut him or dump him in a trade easily so it is a high reward low risk deal, but let's not frame it as some great long term move.

Fighting for starting PG job is legit and natural thing for a good player. In LAL with young Ball, and in Denver with young Murray, he knows his expected role, and he is there temporarily anyway, so I can't see reasons for fear. If he stays healthy and playing about 25mpg well on 15-5 level, he will find next summer team to sign 10M+ contract as a starter. And next season we will not need a backup guard like it we need this season, because MPJ will be ready for SF job, and Barton will be redirected on the backup-G role. So I only wish IT good health for the upcoming season. I can't see here any problem with his level of play or bad chemistry problem.

[The Rebel]

IT is known just one single year as a "star", the rest of the career he is more known as a fanatically hard worker who succeeded to fight all his obvious disadvantages against all odds. His fortuneless episode in Cleveland was the only one where such problems existed, but that was only a product of bad circumstances. There are big pressure and unrealistic big expectation from him after a big injury to replace Irving in Clevland on the all-star level. He did not manage it well, but it is not all his fault. Such fighter should have a positive influence on young players, and he already worked well with Malone in Sacramento.

What? Sorry but that is just false, the only places he has not had problems were in Boston and for the last 2 months while he was in LA. He was never even offered a contract from Sacramento because the front office and ownership did not like his attitude or play, and he refused to accept that he was not a starter on that team. He forced his way off of the Suns 4 months after signing there because he could not earn the starting job over Bledsoe or Dragic.

We are one of the few teams that have ever helped someone come back from multiple hip surgeries as we did with Wilson Chandler. If the front office and medical staff think he will be okay than he can contribute, but with the minimum contract if his attitude starts we can cut him or dump him in a trade easily so it is a high reward low risk deal, but let's not frame it as some great long term move.

Fighting for starting PG job is legit and natural thing for a good player. In LAL with young Ball, and in Denver with young Murray, he knows his expected role, and he is there temporarily anyway, so I can't see reasons for fear. If he stays healthy and playing about 25mpg well on 15-5 level, he will find next summer team to sign 10M+ contract as a starter. And next season we will not need a backup guard like it we need this season, because MPJ will be ready for SF job, and Barton will be redirected on the backup-G role. So I only wish IT good health for the upcoming season. I can't see here any problem with his level of play or bad chemistry problem.

Fighting for a starting job is fine, but when you are clearly outplayed as he was in Phoenix, Cleveland, and Sacramento and then causing issues in the locker room due to not being handed the job is not fine, and that is his history. He bit his tongue for 2 months in LA after he was literally salary dumped by a contender due to his attitude issues, so I am not ready to say that it is a good signing or there is nothing to fear. There is a reason that they blew up the Suns months after signing him, there is a reason the Cavs salary dumped him, there is a reason the Kings never made a 2nd contract offer, and there is a reason that the Lakers did not even pretend to want him back, he screws up locker rooms when he does not get his way, so we better be ready to cut him and eat his salary the minute his attitude starts up again.

Also even if Porter is ready a year from now, I doubt he gets handed the starting SF job, he will likely take a year or two to earn that position. It is likely that Morris will outplay Thomas by this time next year, so he will likely be gone, but to say there is no risk and that Thomas's attitude is no issue is ignoring the obvious.

[NuggetsWY]

Welcome Isaiah Thomas - you have a reputation for having issues with coaches - don't forget the Nuggets paid too much to dump Nurkic because he didn't get alone with Malone - and your salary isn't enough to worry about.

Welcome Isaiah Thomas - here's to hoping you are content to play off the bench. Here's to hoping you are effective in the 4th quarter this year. A closing lineup of Jokic, Millsap, Harris, Murray, Thomas sounds exciting.

Welcome Isaiah Thomas - your passion will be welcome!

[Richard Miller]

Fighting for starting PG job is legit and natural thing for a good player. In LAL with young Ball, and in Denver with young Murray, he knows his expected role, and he is there temporarily anyway, so I can't see reasons for fear. If he stays healthy and playing about 25mpg well on 15-5 level, he will find next summer team to sign 10M+ contract as a starter.

Yea, if he was willing to sign a minimum contract, and not on Warriors or similar team, I think he knows very well at what stage of his career he is atm. If he acts like a diva now he may as well retire, if he doesn't prove himself no one will give him even vet contract the season after that.

[THE J0KER]

Fighting for starting PG job is legit and natural thing for a good player. In LAL with young Ball, and in Denver with young Murray, he knows his expected role, and he is there temporarily anyway, so I can't see reasons for fear. If he stays healthy and playing about 25mpg well on 15-5 level, he will find next summer team to sign 10M+ contract as a starter.

Yea, if he was willing to sign a minimum contract, and not on Warriors or similar team, I think he knows very well at what stage of his career he is atm. If he acts like a diva now he may as well retire, if he doesn't prove himself no one will give him even vet contract the season after that.

I think he basically doing the same thing as Boogie Cousins with 1r sign for Warriors, or Brook Lopez with Bucks, where both sign cheap one year contract for strong playoff teams to make a much better case for next summer when they want to sign much better long-term contracts. OK, Cousins and Lopez will be role players starters unlike IT, but Thomas role as 6th man will be same important for a team like Lopez and Boogie roles in Bucks and Warriors team. He knows already who Murray is, and that his role is not to fight with him for PG starter job, but to help him to improve.

[GrapeApe]

If he's coming in knowing he's a backup, and he's good with that, I guess this is okay, for the price.

I'm not very confident in this front office at this point.

IT is known just one single year as a "star", the rest of the career he is more known as a fanatically hard worker who succeeded to fight all his obvious disadvantages against all odds. His fortuneless episode in Cleveland was the only one where such problems existed, but that was only a product of bad circumstances. There are big pressure and unrealistic big expectation from him after a big injury to replace Irving in Clevland on the all-star level. He did not manage it well, but it is not all his fault. Such fighter should have a positive influence on young players, and he already worked well with Malone in Sacramento.

Despite not getting the minutes or rule he deserved he put up good numbers in Sacramento and Phoenix. The biggest problem he had in Sac was Cousins was jealous of Isaiah's popularity. The problem last year is likely due to the injury. So if healthy IT should be able to produce much better than he did last season. If healthy this is the steal of the off season, or right behind Cousins.

[skywalker33]

This is just a filler spot, although it should fill two needs: bench scoring and veteran PG. although as Rebel points out, BIG locker room concerns here. Being Malone probably signed off on this, if there is locker room issues does he take any of the blame ??

[GrapeApe]

This is just a filler spot, although it should fill two needs: bench scoring and veteran PG. although as Rebel points out, BIG locker room concerns here. Being Malone probably signed off on this, if there is locker room issues does he take any of the blame ??

By all accounts he was a good locker room guy in Sac.

[RRFB]

I didn't like it at first, but this signing is growing on me. The Nuggets definitely could use some extra scoring/playmaking off the bench with Barton moving to the starting lineup, and the locker room issues aren't a huge concern given his prior relationship with Malone. He knows what kind of role to expect coming in. I can't see him blowing up the locker room. The biggest fear is that Malone falls in love and plays him more than Murray.

Defense will be a big problem, but that was always going to be the case. It's actually kind of exciting to see the FO embrace what this team does best -- score. They could be downright dominant offensively next year.

[Zaccaibone]

I like the deal