All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: [email protected]
MISSING
Denver Nuggets (Last Year: 54-28)
Depth Chart:
C: Nene Hilario/Chris Andersen/Johan Petro
PF: Kenyon Martin/Malik Allen
SF: Carmelo Anthony/Renaldo Balkman/Joey Graham
SG: J.R. Smith/Aaron Afflalo
PG: Chauncey Billups/Ty Lawson/Anthony
Carter
Head Coach: George Karl (6th
year)
2009-2010 Team Salary: $74.0 million
Projected 2010-2011 Team
Salary: approximately $74.65 million
Off-Season Grade: Passed
With their core pieces under
contract for a couple more years and very little cap flexibility, Denver
didn’t have the opportunity to make any major moves. They rewarded
everybody’s favorite tattooed, mohawked NBA player, Chris Andersen
with a 5-year contract extension. Andersen provides some great
energy and defense off the bench so the new deal makes a lot of sense.
In losing last year’s starting
shooting guard Dahntay Jones via free agency, the Nuggets hoped to fill
some of his void by acquiring Aaron Afflalo for next to nothing.
Despite having no picks in the NBA Draft, Denver was nonetheless aggressive,
acquiring the rights of Ty Lawson who could develop into the point guard
of the future.
2009-2010 Outlook:
The acquisition of Chauncey
Billups early last season helped vault the Nuggets to the top three
in the Western Conference. This year we will find out if 2008-09
was a fluke or if Denver is the real deal.
The Nuggets will only go as
far as Carmelo Anthony and Billups carry them. While there are
some nice pieces around them – a healthy Nene and K-Mart, improving J.R.
Smith – Denver is not a very deep team and will rely on their stars to
lead the way. It is unlikely they will reach their win total from
a year ago, but should still be major players in the middle of the conference
race and battle Portland for the Northwest Division crown.
J.R. Smith is suspended for
the first seven games of the season due to off-the-court issues.
Looking Ahead to the Summer of 2010:
Kenyon Martin has a $16.5 million player option for next season. If he doesn’t exercise that option, I will shave a Manu Ginobli-like bald spot in my head. Most of Denver’s roster is locked up for the 2010-11 season and they will have zero cap flexibility unless they make a move before the free agency period. The Nuggets are relying on their current core of players to carry them through the next seasons.
2009-10 NBA Power Ranking: 9th
Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: [email protected]
MISSING
2024 NFL Mock Draft - April 23
NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22
Fantasy Football Rankings - Feb. 19
NFL Picks - Feb. 12
