getrichordie wrote:The Rebel wrote:getrichordie wrote:Thunder buddy here. How interested would you guys be in a shiny Chris Paul? Premise of trade would be centered around Millsap & Paul obviously.
I wouldn't be at all. I love Paul, but it was obvious how much he struggled at times off the ball, and fact is Paul is just too injury prone already with a long time left on that contract. We cannot afford to take on that deal if we are building a long term contender with Jokic, MPJ, and Murray.
How much does Denver value Murray? Does trading Millsap for CP3 not give Denver its best chance for a ship barring a crazy trade or development?
I would say that Denver values Murray a lot more than most fans would ever understand. There are not many PGs that can play off the ball as much as Murray does, and only a handful of guards around the league that are willing to sacrifice their body to set screens on and off ball, unless you have someone coming back that can replace those than it hurts the Nuggets. The entire Nuggets offense for the starters has been struggling with Murray out, only saved by Jokic and MPJ playing like beasts and Malone having the good sense to put the hot shooters on the court at the end of the game (until yesterday that is). I personally think that Murray would put up much better stats on a team where he had the ball in his hands near as much as most PGs but he doesn't get those opportunities with Jokic on the floor.
As for CP3, what do we need him for? Maybe you have missed it, but the Nuggets were the 4th youngest team in the league to make the 2nd round of the playoffs, I would say we are just fine on development. With Jokic becoming more vocal, we have Murray, Jokic, and MIllsap who are all leaders of the team and we seem to be doing just fine with them. Our entire scheme depends heavily on good defensive PFs so that Jokic and our guards can be aggressive on the perimeter, while Grant is pretty good he is not Millsap and going from Grant to Vanderbilt or Plumlee as backup PF hurts that defense. Our offensive scheme depends heavily on having a PG that is happy playing off the ball and Paul is not great about that. Sorry I just do not see the need.
Add to the lack of need is that contract, for the next 3 years we have Murray and Jokic on 25% max deals, we have to resign Grant or Millsap next summer, with Harris and Barton still having 2 more years. I watched the Nuggets throw away years with Melo due to having a near max deal on an injury prone players. KMart Leanord, and Nene's lack of health kept this team from ever moving into firm contender status, why put yourself in the same spot with Jokic?
