WOJ: Jerami Grant for 1st

[THE J0KER]

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Grant played last season for a playoff team, so we can compare his numbers as he played in Denver! He is 5th best Nuggets player already, so I don't see in him backup forward for Paul Millsap, but our SF starter or 6th man which will be our 4th player in minutes per game playing time (after Jokic, Murray, and Harris)!

[skywalker33]

Why you are people so high on Juancho ??? He have showed some flashes here and there as the spot up shooter but he's inconsistent , I don't think he's even rotational player in the NBA , not for the contender team such as Denver, or they try to be .

I agree with most of this statement and would throw Vando in here as well. Fact is we can't expect every young player on our roster to develop into a serviceable vet. Imagine if we would have had Grant in the playoffs last year! Juancho and Vando will still get minutes but we needed a developed F badly so I'm onboard with this move.

Mix in MPJ/Cancar/Bol and we def have a glut of F's that "need" mins but I have no doubt they'll all get their chance, injuries happen, glad we're a little more prepared to battle in the West now.

As a starter primarily in November and December Juancho averaged 11.2/6.3/1.2 on 64.3% TS with the team going 17-8 with him at SF. He was also a positive player at +4.5. Overall for the year he was a slightly positive defender and a huge plus on offense, playing through the injury. People forget he had the same injury that cost Barton half the season and Harris 25 games affecting them both throughout the end of the season. HE was not really effective after his injury, but reality is that he should not have been playing.

So I ask both of you guys, what do you expect from a 5th starter? Not every player on the roster is going to be a superstar, you need guys that can do things that make the team better, and Juancho hitting the spot up shots and with his help defense are a huge benefit to the team. The fact that so many blow him off make me question what they hell they were watching, healthy Juancho was easily better than Lyles or Craig yet people consider Juancho expendable?

For Vanderbilt, I am curious on what he brings. His scouting report is a defensive specialist with an iffy outside shot, that is very good at man to man and help defense, and a great handle and passing for a big man. With Vanderbilt, Cancar, Bol Bol, and whoever else they bring in as a backup PF we are talking about our 4th big and 10th overall in the rotation. I do not think it is worth a lot of assets when we have those 3 and Juancho who can all fight for the minutes.

Now with grant on the team, I am hoping that we move Barton to free up minutes so that both Grant and Juancho will get minutes as I have little faith that MPJ will stay healthy at this point.

The biggest issue with Juancho is can he every stay healthy, as they say "the best ability is availability". I also question whether if Juancho commitment to the Spanish National Team supersedes his commitment to the Nuggets, he's always available to play for them but by the time he reaches us he's worn down and prone to injury. I know that there are FIBA rules allowing him to play, but I do think the two have conflicted for the Nuggets.

[The Rebel]

I agree with most of this statement and would throw Vando in here as well. Fact is we can't expect every young player on our roster to develop into a serviceable vet. Imagine if we would have had Grant in the playoffs last year! Juancho and Vando will still get minutes but we needed a developed F badly so I'm onboard with this move.

Mix in MPJ/Cancar/Bol and we def have a glut of F's that "need" mins but I have no doubt they'll all get their chance, injuries happen, glad we're a little more prepared to battle in the West now.

As a starter primarily in November and December Juancho averaged 11.2/6.3/1.2 on 64.3% TS with the team going 17-8 with him at SF. He was also a positive player at +4.5. Overall for the year he was a slightly positive defender and a huge plus on offense, playing through the injury. People forget he had the same injury that cost Barton half the season and Harris 25 games affecting them both throughout the end of the season. HE was not really effective after his injury, but reality is that he should not have been playing.

So I ask both of you guys, what do you expect from a 5th starter? Not every player on the roster is going to be a superstar, you need guys that can do things that make the team better, and Juancho hitting the spot up shots and with his help defense are a huge benefit to the team. The fact that so many blow him off make me question what they hell they were watching, healthy Juancho was easily better than Lyles or Craig yet people consider Juancho expendable?

For Vanderbilt, I am curious on what he brings. His scouting report is a defensive specialist with an iffy outside shot, that is very good at man to man and help defense, and a great handle and passing for a big man. With Vanderbilt, Cancar, Bol Bol, and whoever else they bring in as a backup PF we are talking about our 4th big and 10th overall in the rotation. I do not think it is worth a lot of assets when we have those 3 and Juancho who can all fight for the minutes.

Now with grant on the team, I am hoping that we move Barton to free up minutes so that both Grant and Juancho will get minutes as I have little faith that MPJ will stay healthy at this point.

The biggest issue with Juancho is can he every stay healthy, as they say "the best ability is availability". I also question whether if Juancho commitment to the Spanish National Team supersedes his commitment to the Nuggets, he's always available to play for them but by the time he reaches us he's worn down and prone to injury. I know that there are FIBA rules allowing him to play, but I do think the two have conflicted for the Nuggets.

I agree that health is an issue, not just for Juancho, but for Harris and MPJ as well.

For me the biggest issue for Juancho is not that he gets injured, it is that he seems to insist on trying to play through it, and is ineffective for weeks at a time when he may miss a couple of weeks if he would just sit out. He needs to sit out if he is hurt and take care of his body so that when he does play he is effective. That may also lead to less injuries.

[NuggetsWY]

As I already said, I like the move, grat fit for Jokic. Let´s hope he continues his 3pt range around 40%.

I think there shall be more moves. With this add, we are 2M below the tax limit with 13 players and Bol Bol has to sign his contract. Either we have no 3rd PG or we move somebody else.

Not worried about a third PG. Jokic handles a lot and most of our players are somewhat capable of bringing the ball up court.

The only negative thing I can say is that he might eat away at potential MPJ/Vanderbilt minutes, but it doesn't hurt to have a 3rd PF on roster. Hopefully this is the FO's way of pressuring Malone out of PF Plumlee lineups, they paid a 1st to get a real guy on Millsap's off minutes.

As for Hernangomez, I don't really see anyone overly excited about him or even projecting him as a starter. But when he is healthy, it makes an effort on both ends and his shooting can make a big difference. His health is the question and we'll have to see. The major point is that everyone else in the NBA has those same questions, so he has little trade value. I'd suggest we keep him to see how he develops. He'll cost us $3m this year and that's it - unless we want to keep him.

[TunaFish]

As I already said, I like the move, grat fit for Jokic. Let´s hope he continues his 3pt range around 40%.

I think there shall be more moves. With this add, we are 2M below the tax limit with 13 players and Bol Bol has to sign his contract. Either we have no 3rd PG or we move somebody else.

Not worried about a third PG. Jokic handles a lot and most of our players are somewhat capable of bringing the ball up court.

The only negative thing I can say is that he might eat away at potential MPJ/Vanderbilt minutes, but it doesn't hurt to have a 3rd PF on roster. Hopefully this is the FO's way of pressuring Malone out of PF Plumlee lineups, they paid a 1st to get a real guy on Millsap's off minutes.

As for Hernangomez, I don't really see anyone overly excited about him or even projecting him as a starter. But when he is healthy, it makes an effort on both ends and his shooting can make a big difference. His health is the question and we'll have to see. The major point is that everyone else in the NBA has those same questions, so he has little trade value. I'd suggest we keep him to see how he develops. He'll cost us $3m this year and that's it - unless we want to keep him.

If you had ask me that question at the end of December, I would have said that Hernangomez looks like a starter. I thought he might have won the job. The drop off in the first week of January was dramatic. He never fully recovered. However, I don't think its the type of injury that he shouldn't fully recover from. This is his only injury that I am aware of that is worth monitoring.

Looking back at his previous season is a different matter. If their is one thing that I have learned about Mononucleosis, having recently experienced it for myself (an older adult), that virus is a monster and it knocks you on you ass. Worse, it takes for ever to get rid of it. So, I was actually surprised he recovered quickly. Once your body builds an immunity, its gone. So its not really an injury in that sense.

The injury he had last season is unrelated and came as a surprise. I still don't understand why the Nuggets said nothing during the season about his injury. I hope we see him as we did in November.

[TunaFish]

Here is an interesting take on Grant from Norman, OK:

https://www.normantranscript.com/sports/okc-thunder-evaluation-jerami-grant-has-no-complaints-nor-does/article_0dd8fe38-7d02-11e9-9e70-cf0b9e3190ff.html

[Powder Blue]

As a starter primarily in November and December Juancho averaged 11.2/6.3/1.2 on 64.3% TS with the team going 17-8 with him at SF. He was also a positive player at +4.5. Overall for the year he was a slightly positive defender and a huge plus on offense, playing through the injury. People forget he had the same injury that cost Barton half the season and Harris 25 games affecting them both throughout the end of the season. HE was not really effective after his injury, but reality is that he should not have been playing.

So I ask both of you guys, what do you expect from a 5th starter? Not every player on the roster is going to be a superstar, you need guys that can do things that make the team better, and Juancho hitting the spot up shots and with his help defense are a huge benefit to the team. The fact that so many blow him off make me question what they hell they were watching, healthy Juancho was easily better than Lyles or Craig yet people consider Juancho expendable?

For Vanderbilt, I am curious on what he brings. His scouting report is a defensive specialist with an iffy outside shot, that is very good at man to man and help defense, and a great handle and passing for a big man. With Vanderbilt, Cancar, Bol Bol, and whoever else they bring in as a backup PF we are talking about our 4th big and 10th overall in the rotation. I do not think it is worth a lot of assets when we have those 3 and Juancho who can all fight for the minutes.

Now with grant on the team, I am hoping that we move Barton to free up minutes so that both Grant and Juancho will get minutes as I have little faith that MPJ will stay healthy at this point.

The biggest issue with Juancho is can he every stay healthy, as they say "the best ability is availability". I also question whether if Juancho commitment to the Spanish National Team supersedes his commitment to the Nuggets, he's always available to play for them but by the time he reaches us he's worn down and prone to injury. I know that there are FIBA rules allowing him to play, but I do think the two have conflicted for the Nuggets.

I agree that health is an issue, not just for Juancho, but for Harris and MPJ as well.

For me the biggest issue for Juancho is not that he gets injured, it is that he seems to insist on trying to play through it, and is ineffective for weeks at a time when he may miss a couple of weeks if he would just sit out. He needs to sit out if he is hurt and take care of his body so that when he does play he is effective. That may also lead to less injuries.

I acknowledge Juancho had 2 good months last season but for reasons stated the fall off was drastic. I don't expect the 5th starter to be a superstar at all and if Juancho can get back to playing like he did for those 2 months great but it's also possible those 2 months were an outlier as well. There are soooo many players we're "hoping" can stay healthy/improve. I'm happy to see that we went and made a move for a guy that doesn't have those same concerns around him at the moment.

The optimism on the board is great n all but it's not realistic to think every question mark on our roster will pan out and we need to plan in the event they don't. That being said I have no issue with Barton being moved at any moment.

[THE J0KER]

Grant was under the radar for me when I watched OKC games or highlights, so I little bit researched today on YT, and I'm very happy on what I see, so I'm even more in love with this TPE and trade move. I explaining so many times since Gallinari left how desperately we need another decent forward (apart of Millsap), so every starting level forward would be more than welcome. But Grant is not just clearly better than our previous two starters Wilson Chandler or Will Barton, and superior to our backup forwards Juancho and Craig, but he seems to me now more and more like a great fit to Jokic offense and a nice upgrade for team's defense.

I was a little bit confused about how someone with 70% FT% can be so 40% good at 3p%. And I must say now, his 2018-19 3pt% stats are not a fluke! It is all about shot selection, over 80% of these 3pt shots are coming when he is WIDE OPEN, mostly from corners, which means he has a great movement without the ball, and someone with Jokic court vision will find a way to explore it for sure! With Grant comes, Except for these wide open 3pt (corner) shots, we can see from Nuggets more dunks, more PnR actions, and very important, Denver will probably from bottom 5 improve into TOP10 blocking teams even with reduced Plumlee time!

[Alatan]

I like the move. He is the type of player we need at the 4 spot. Maybe he can even play some 3. He is a great finisher and can space the floor both from 3 and vertically. A solid defender and rim protector and has a great motor. Not the best at creating his own shot but really good at converting open opportunities. Will love playing alongside Jokic.

[THE J0KER]

Jerami was officially introduced today.

You can find a video here and see him, Malone and Connelly answering a few questions. https://www.denverpost.com/2019/07/11/jerami-grant-denver-nuggets-press-conference/

He looks a little bit numb and frozen at the beginning, but in the end, it seems he actually enjoying the moment and this career change.

[Jamaaliver]

Dude looks like a solid pickup for you guys.

Why Jerami Grant Was the One of the Best Acquisitions of the NBA Offseason

The Denver Nuggets may have found the perfect frontcourt partner for Nikola Jokic



No one would blame you if you missed this other bit of Thunder news: OKC traded Jerami Grant to the Nuggets for a top-10 protected 2020 first-round pick. For the Thunder, it was a move to avoid the repeater tax. For the Nuggets, Grant is the steal of the summer.

As good as the Nuggets were last season, they severely lacked a quality wing or forward who could complement Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray on offense and cover for them on defense. That’s where Grant comes in: The Nuggets didn’t add a star, but they did acquire a player who gives them a chance to neutralize opposing stars. It’s become a cliché to call a player a five-position defender, but Grant truly is one. He is 6-foot-9 and effectively defends players of varying size and skills. He can battle bigs and protect the rim as a shot blocker:

Spoiler:

Grant’s offense could also make Jokic even more deadly; he overhauled his shooting mechanics, removing a hitch and adjusting his release point, making him a reliable spot-up shooter; Grant gives Jokic a target to pass to either as a spot-up shooter or as a cutter.

Spoiler:

The Nuggets had to give up only a protected first-round pick for Grant. All the Nuggets need for this deal to be a slam dunk is for Grant to re-sign. This was their best chance to add an ideal frontcourt partner for Jokic’s present and future.

The Ringer

[BigRedDog]

This was a really good move. The best way for the Nuggets to improve was to ensure Will barton never sees the floor again and i think the addition of Grant and the emergence of Morris gives the Nuggets enough offense to ban Barton to the bench. Barton always had his flaws as a player, but last year he had only his flaws and nothing else.

[NuggetsWY]

This was a really good move. The best way for the Nuggets to improve was to ensure Will barton never sees the floor again and i think the addition of Grant and the emergence of Morris gives the Nuggets enough offense to ban Barton to the bench. Barton always had his flaws as a player, but last year he had only his flaws and nothing else.

But how will Malone look at this? You know he has his favorites.

[BigRedDog]

This was a really good move. The best way for the Nuggets to improve was to ensure Will barton never sees the floor again and i think the addition of Grant and the emergence of Morris gives the Nuggets enough offense to ban Barton to the bench. Barton always had his flaws as a player, but last year he had only his flaws and nothing else.

But how will Malone look at this? You know he has his favorites.

Iot sure . ideally Grant is a PF which will help keep Millsap fresh as he's very old and injury prone and you need to keep him fresh for the postseason.

I got the feeling the nuggets wore down. They had a grind it out series vs SAS and then another hard fought one with POR.

You get the feeling they sorta missed their chance last year against a weakened warriors squad who has always struggled mightily against Jokic... i woulda loved to see that series. Im not sure they match up well vs the clips or lakers but i definitely belive grant gives them a much better defensive option against those wings

[skywalker33]

This was a really good move. The best way for the Nuggets to improve was to ensure Will barton never sees the floor again and i think the addition of Grant and the emergence of Morris gives the Nuggets enough offense to ban Barton to the bench. Barton always had his flaws as a player, but last year he had only his flaws and nothing else.

Last year Barton was dealing with his 1st big injury of his career, share some grace there, BigRed. And it isn't like Barton is the worst player in the history of the Nuggets, he just doesn't mesh well within the current system. He has some good iso skills and would probably work well on many NBA teams, just not as good on this team. Dude can score, he can play the 1,2 or 3 so he's versatile. He just has the wrong mentality for this team.

[THE J0KER]

Let's be clear, after the addition of Jeramy Grant and Michael Porter Jr, and especially if Craig 3p% improvement from playoff are for real, Will Barton as SF is in a position just like Keneth Faried was after Paul Millsap arrival, and in worse position than Nurkic when it was obvious that Jokic will take the starting center job. Barton can play backup-guard role, but the fact is that Beasley and Morris are more efficient players which better fit to our system.

The other Nuggets player which is in a similarly bad situation, who I feel even more sorry than Barton is Mason Plumlee. Plumlee loses now all his PF minutes, and his backup center minutes can be reduced due to Jokic increasing playing time and also more effective Denver small-ball rotation around Grant and Millsap. Plumlee is in his contract year, and it will be unfair if he is going to play just about 10 mpg and lose most of his value.

I whish Barton and Plumlee to be traded before the trade deadline this season for their good sake.

[skywalker33]

Plumlees mins will be reduced due to Jokic increasing playing time.

Ever heard of load management ?? So far you're the only one who has suggested Jokic up his PT in the regular season to 35+mins. I can see that during the playoffs but we need to keep him fresh until it IS crunch-time....

[The Rebel]

Let's be clear, after the addition of Jeramy Grant and Michael Porter Jr, and especially if Craig 3p% improvement from playoff are for real, Will Barton as SF is in a position just like Keneth Faried was after Paul Millsap arrival, and in worse position than Nurkic when it was obvious that Jokic will take the starting center job. Barton can play backup-guard role, but the fact is that Beasley and Morris are more efficient players which better fit to our system.

The other Nuggets player which is in a similarly bad situation, who I feel even more sorry than Barton is Mason Plumlee. Plumlee loses now all his PF minutes, and his backup center minutes can be reduced due to Jokic increasing playing time and also more effective Denver small-ball rotation around Grant and Millsap. Plumlee is in his contract year, and it will be unfair if he is going to play just about 10 mpg and lose most of his value.

I whish Barton and Plumlee to be traded before the trade deadline this season for their good sake.

With the depth this team has I do not see any reason that Jokic or anybody else should be playing more than 30 MPG while healthy. There will be more minutes with injuries and in the playoffs, but as long as guys are healthy there is no reason for it.

[NuggetsWY]

Beyond the minutes per game; the Nuggets ought to be considering limiting the number of games key players play in. I'm not sure what that means exactly. Players that play 30+ mpg would seem like key players. How many games should they take off? Young players that aren't having health issues may not need many but I'd look at any one game road trips as a chance to give some players games off. I know teams and players prefer to always travel together but skipping a flight out and back in 36-48 hours might be a nice chance to save some wear & tear. Other than that, just a game off here and there might help with "load management".